NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor Starts Hot, Powers Mets Past Phillies with Two Homers

Francisco Lindor is off to a blazing start this season—and on Monday night, he kept the momentum going against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets’ star shortstop continued his hot streak by smashing two home runs and driving in four runs, helping New York edge out their NL East rivals 5-4 in the first game of a three-game series.

With the win, the Mets (16-7) extended their lead in the division to three games over Philadelphia. This matchup was the first between the two teams since last October, when the Mets eliminated the Phillies from the playoffs with a Game 4 victory in the NL Division Series at Citi Field. Lindor had delivered the knockout blow in that series with a sixth-inning grand slam.

On Monday, he picked up right where he left off—blasting a leadoff homer and then launching a three-run shot in the seventh, both landing in nearly the same spot in right-center as his previous postseason blast.

“Pretty similar to what happened last year,” said Mets pitcher Tylor Megill.

Lindor’s performance marked the 20th multi-homer game of his career as a shortstop, placing him behind only Alex Rodriguez (33) and Ernie Banks (24) in MLB history at that position.

The four-time All-Star now has four home runs in his last four games, including a recent walk-off blast. Since starting the season 0-for-11 against the Astros, Lindor has turned things around, batting .325 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

“They got me at the beginning,” Lindor said of his early struggles. “But that’s in the past.”

So are memories of last season’s slow start, where he hit just 1-for-31 in New York’s first eight games and was batting .195 through 44 games before being moved to the leadoff spot on May 18. From that point on, he hit .304 with 26 home runs and 70 RBIs, finishing second in NL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza credits Lindor’s mindset.

“He’s focused on the process now, not the results,” Mendoza said. “Instead of thinking about being a slow starter, he’s preparing properly, going out there, and competing. He’s focused on quality at-bats and solid defense, rather than putting pressure on himself.”

On Sunday, Lindor crushed Sonny Gray’s fourth pitch into the second deck in right field and went 3-for-5 with three runs in a 7-4 win over the Cardinals. He followed it up Monday by sending Aaron Nola’s fifth pitch to nearly the same spot.

That homer was Lindor’s 23rd career leadoff blast—his third this season—and he joined Kazuo Matsui (2004) and Curtis Granderson (2017) as the only Mets players to homer leading off in consecutive games.

“He’s just playing free,” Mendoza added. “He’s being himself, and now he’s seeing results.”

Meanwhile, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola continued to struggle, dropping to 0-5 after walking two and giving up Lindor’s early homer.

“Got to keep battling,” Nola said. “I haven’t found my rhythm yet this year, but I’ll keep working. I can’t control the results, but I can control the walks.”