Lindor hits first home run with Mets

As Mets hitting coach Chili Davis put it before Wednesday’s game against the Cubs, the expectations surrounding Francisco Lindor are high because, “I think he has high expectations of himself as well.” For years, Lindor has been one of the premier shortstops in Major League Baseball. A slump at the beginning of his Mets tenure wasn’t about to change that.

Davis added that he expected Lindor to hit his groove soon. Hours later, the shortstop proved his hitting coach correct by pulling a Zach Davies changeup over the right-field fence at Wrigley Field in Chicago. It was Lindor’s first home run as a Met in his 54th plate appearance, giving the team a 1-0 lead in a game they went on to lose, 16-4.

“All it takes is one swing to feel like I’m in a good spot,” Lindor said. “I got that one swing, and then after that it was like, ‘All right.’”

Entering the night, Lindor was batting just .171/.327/.195 as a Met, prompting some anxiousness from a fan base with high hopes since the team signed him to a 10-year, $341 million contract extension on the eve of Opening Day. Davis chalked much of that up to the Mets’ disjointed start, which included seven postponed or suspended games, along with many days when the Mets could not take batting practice.

The team did take BP on Wednesday, before Lindor came to the plate with the bases empty and one out in the first inning. When Davies left a 2-1 changeup on the inner half of the plate, Lindor turned on it, cranking the ball 386 feet to right. That was no small feat; before the blast, lefty batters such as the switch-hitting Lindor had a .169 average and .268 slugging percentage against Davies’ changeup over the past two seasons.

By night’s end, Lindor was one of the few offensive bright spots for the Mets, finishing 3-for-4 to raise his season slash line to .222/.357/.311.

“It’s going to come,” Lindor said. “I’ve just got to play the game, and as a professional hitter, make the adjustments faster.”

Lindor’s career high in a season is 38 homers, set back in 2018. From 2017-20, he hit 105 home runs as a shortstop, tied with Trevor Story for the most at the position. In recent days, Lindor has been working with Davis on a “tunnel drill,” which helps him shape his swing path to what it should look like. Through that work, and with Wednesday’s individual result in his pocket, Lindor believes the worst of his season-opening slump could be in the past.

“I’m accountable,” Lindor said. “With the help of Chili and Slate [assistant hitting coach Tom Slater] … who knows? God willing tomorrow, I’ll get a couple more hits and we’ll get the ‘W.’”