Flushing, NY – Francisco Lindor was emotional Friday night at Citi Field and it was more than his 1-for-3 – four RBI game in the Mets 10-4 win over the Miami Marlins that included a three-run homer in the first inning that went deep to center and into the black.
It’s been a roller coaster of sorts for Lindor. Since his arrival to the Mets, Lindor, a previous winner of the prestigious 2016 Latino Sports AL MVP award, had an outstanding April that got his team off to a good start and comfortable lead in the NL East.
In May, though, it was Lindor slacking again. His on and off consistency became a concern and this month the numbers have been on that roller coaster ride of up and down.
But Friday night it was more than the numbers. Spell the word MOM, a surprise visit arranged by his wife. It was the first time his mother, Serrano watched and cheered her son as a member of the Mets after arriving from Puerto Rico. After the home run, Lindor could be seen sending a sign of love and screamed the joy to his mother in a Citi Field suite with other family members.
She never left the ballpark and the emotions flowed in the home clubhouse after a win that saw the Mets pick up a game on their division lead against the surging Atlanta Braves.
Mom and son had a long awaited reunion in the Mets press conference room prior to the game.
“My wife was very emotional, telling me she was going to give me one of the great Father’s Day gifts,” Lindor said. “She’s the best. She surprised me. My whole family. “It gave me that extra energy that I needed.”
The energy also showed in the third inning. Lindor, a four-time AL All-Star and two-time Golden glove winner, showed more of that energy with a quick release and pulled off a backhanded stab of a ball in the middle that got Jazz Chisholm Jr. at first.
There was another defensive gem in the third inning.
And that feel good for Lindor, who is still playing with an injured finger that was sustained in a freak accident two weeks ago when he accidentally closed a hotel door on his hand when the Mets arrived in Los Angeles for their 10-game road swing.
Through the pain, Lindor has managed to keep hismelf in the lineup. This was his second four RBI game of the season. He continues to lead all shortstops and tied for fourth in MLB with 49 RBI.
“I love my mom, I play the game for my mom and my entire family.” Lindor said. “To have her here at this moment, it’s a win for me. It’s a win for the entire family. I’m a person that shows a lot of emotions, but to run the bases, scream there were a lot of things going through my mind. To me, it was very special to do that for the team, and for my mom for sure.”
His mom got welcomed in the Mets clubhouse. The emotions continued.
“Those are moments,” manager Buck Showlater said. “I got emotional when he hit his home run, I could tell he was too, to see her son do that tonight.”
Pete Alonso hit his second grand slam of the season in the sixth inning and increased his Major league RBI lead to 63.
“I’m happy that she was able to be here,” Alonso said about Lindor’s mother. “And see him hit the ball out the way he did,”
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer with Latinosports.com Twitter@Ring786 Facebook,com/Rich Mancuso Watch “Sports With Rich Tuesday evening 10pm ET with Robert Rizzo. YouTube SLG Network. Like, Comment, Subscribe YouTube Rich Mancuso
