PHILADELPHIA -- Initially, Francisco Lindor didn’t think he needed to slide. After slicing an RBI hit into the right-center field gap in the sixth inning on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, Lindor rounded first with what he believed to be a standup double.

But as Johan Rojas gathered the ball and threw a strike to second base, Lindor realized his mistake.

By then, it was too late to dive to the turf, so Lindor instead lunged awkwardly as he tried to keep his foot on the second-base bag. He could not, and worse, Lindor’s back tightened up in the process, resulting in his early exit from the Mets’ 11-3 win over the Phillies.

That, for New York, was the bad news. The good news was Lindor offered optimism that he can return as soon as Saturday. Officially, he’s day to day with lower back tightness.

“I would hope so,” Lindor said when asked if he expects to play Saturday. “I pride myself in trying to be available every day. I’m going to do whatever it takes today and tomorrow to be available.”

Lindor, the beating heart of the Mets’ playoff push and a bone fide National League MVP candidate, has appeared in all 147 of his team’s games this season. He’s aiming to join Félix Millán in 1975 as the only Mets to appear in every game of a 162-game season. (A third, John Olerud, appeared in 162 of the team’s 163 regular-season games in 1999.)

Only once this season, May 2 against the Cubs, was Lindor out of the starting lineup. But he recovered from a stomach virus to enter in the sixth inning and hit a pair of two-run doubles, including a walk-off winner.

“It takes a lot to get Francisco out of a game,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re definitely concerned for him. We know that he is obviously a huge part of this team, and we wouldn’t be here without him. So we definitely want him in the lineup, but we want him to take care of himself and be ready for us as we go down the stretch here.”

A prime competitor in what’s increasingly looking like a two-player NL MVP race, Lindor is slashing .270/.341/.493 with 31 homers and 27 stolen bases, all while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense for the Mets.

Lindor’s competition, Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, is slashing .290/.373/.613 with 47 homers and 48 steals as a full-time designated hitter.

Before exiting Friday’s win, Lindor racked up two more hits, an RBI and a run scored.