It wasn't long ago when Francisco Lindor was in the worst funk of his career, but the Mets shortstop has turned things around at the right time.
After breaking his career-worst 0-for-31 skid in the team's series finale against the Angels on Wednesday, Lindor picked up where he left off in Friday's impressive 8-1 win over the Giants.
Lindor went 3-for-5, but as skipper Carlos Mendoza put it after the game, it's how his at-bats look that is encouraging to him.
"His ability to use the whole field, and going the other way, that’s when he’s at his best," Mendoza said. "Some really good signs and it’s good to have him feeling that way."
Mendoza broke down Lindor's three hits and said there was something to like about each of them. His first hit was a single up the middle in the first inning. The second was when he pulled an inside fastball over the right field wall for his 20th home run of the season. And even though he struck out the next two times, his final at-bat in the ninth saw Lindor go the other way for a ground-rule double down the left field line.
"I got rhythm. I feel good," Lindor said of his swing of late. "I did what I wanted to do today. Had a game plan and was able to execute it. That means my swing is in a good spot. Stay the course, continue to be better every day."
It's been a rough few months for Lindor, who was hitting .283 entering June and was looking every bit of the MVP-caliber player that helped the Mets get into the postseason last year. At the lowest point of his skid in July, Lindor was hitting only .245. But after his five hits in two games, he's looking like himself at the plate again.
Lindor credits the team, and especially the hitting staff, for keeping him positive and getting him back to a good spot with his swing.
"It was coming and going. I work, feel good, then it disappears," Lindor said of why his swing went awry. "It’s human nature when you go through tough times … you rely on the people around you and hope to get a hit or two."
Lindor closed his answer with his signature smile. And there's a lot to smile about with the Mets right now. Friday's victory pushed their winning streak to five games and they are clinging to first place in the NL East over the Phillies. But if the Mets hope to win their first division title since 2015, they'll need Lindor and his swing to feel good to get there.