Francisco Lindor’s flu-like symptoms disappeared enough Thursday for the veteran shortstop to lead a Mets victory celebration.
There was Lindor raising his arms at second base after slapping a game-winning, two-run double in the Mets’ 7-6 victory over the Cubs in 11 innings at Citi Field.
Not bad for a guy who had a choice the previous night and took the safe route by departing early from the game.
“[Otherwise] I was either going to throw up at shortstop or do No. 2 at shortstop,” Lindor said
Upon arriving at the ballpark on Thurday, Lindor wanted to start but was told by manager Carlos Mendoza to rest and be ready for later in the game as needed.
Lindor entered as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning and finished with two doubles and four RBIs in helping the Mets get a split in the four-game series.
Harrison Bader was hit by a pitch in the 11th before Lindor delivered, scoring automatic runner Brett Baty in addition to Bader.
This game had a little of everything, including Starling Marte throwing out runners at the plate in the 10th and 11th innings to give the Mets (16-15) a chance.
After a slow start to the season batting left-handed, Lindor delivered two big ones from that side of the plate.
In the sixth, his two-run double sliced the Mets’ deficit to 5-4 — he scored the tying run on Brandon Nimmo’s ensuing double — and then came the game-winner in the 11th.
Over his last 12 games Lindor owns a .999 OPS batting left-handed.
To prepare for this game, Lindor said he received intravenous fluids to combat the dehydration from his illness.
“I woke up and it took me a little longer to show up here and once I showed up here it was just another day,” Lindor said.
The Mets needed it, after extending their scoreless streak to 15 innings before breaking through in the fifth against Ben Brown with two runs.
“For [Lindor] to come through and have two big hits in that game where we needed it and that was really special,” Marte said through an interpreter. “That last at-bat you saw how confident he was, how patient he was. That is a hard thing to do and he was able to come up big for us.”
Danny Young, in his Mets debut, allowed an RBI double to Nick Madrigal in the top of the inning, but Marte threw him out at the plate attempting to score from second on Mike Tauchman’s two-out single to keep the deficit at one.
In the top of the 10th inning Edwin Diaz escaped with an assist from Marte, who threw a strike to Omar Narvaez to nail Christopher Morel on a tag-up play at third base.
A night earlier, the Mets lost on a play at the plate, when Pete Alonso was thrown out on a tag-up play (on which it was ruled Miguel Amaya wasn’t in violation of MLB’s rule against blocking the plate).
Adrian Houser’s afternoon unraveled in the fifth, when he surrendered a three-run homer to Morel.
The right-hander allowed four earned runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts over 82 pitches and saw his ERA from 8.37 to 8.16.
Joey Wendle, playing shortstop a day after Lindor departed ill, was slow in his fielder’s-choice attempt at second on Madrigal’s grounder in the second, extending the inning before the Cubs took a 1-0 lead on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI groundout.
Morel’s three-run homer against Houser in the fifth sank the Mets into a 4-0 hole.
Nico Hoerner walked to begin the rally and Ian Happ singled, ahead of a double steal. Morel cleared the left-field fence for his second homer in the series — his blast Monday in the ninth inning against Diaz gave the Cubs their margin of victory.
But on Thursday the difference was Lindor, who had only one career hit as a pinch hitter when the day began.
“Today I was a role player,” he said. “I had to be ready when my name was called.”
