NEW YORK -- Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was given a scheduled day off against the Phillies in Sunday's series finale. There is nothing wrong with him, but the star infielder is being eased back into his role as an everyday player after missing two months of action with a left calf strain.
The breather comes after he played two consecutive games against Philadelphia to begin the three-game weekend series, with Saturday’s 6-2 victory his best game since returning from the injured list on Wednesday. In the sixth inning, Lindor tied the score at 2-2 with a two-run triple down the right-field line. Overall, he went 1-for-3 with a walk.
The Mets also have a day off coming up on Thursday, which will also help Lindor, before the club opens a four-game series against the Braves in Atlanta on Friday night.
“It’s always going to be dictated by how he feels on a given day and how he is responding,” interim manager Andy Green said about Lindor. “There is nothing in him that doesn’t want to be on the field every single day, so the prudent path for him is to assess each day, put a plan together. We know what that plan looks like.
"You don’t know how many triples he is going to hit in a given day, how much stress is actually there on the body. He is working his way back on consistently being out there. I assure you, I would love to have him on the top half of the lineup card [instead of] as a reserve. Right now, this is right for him in the short term and in the long term.”
Holmes making progress
Right-hander Clay Holmes hasn’t pitched since mid-May after suffering a fractured right fibula against the Yankees. Holmes was pitching in the fourth inning at Citi Field when Spencer Jones struck him on the right leg with a 111.1 mph comebacker.
Since that day, progress has been made: Holmes had an X-ray on his right leg recently, and the results were positive. He is currently throwing on flat ground and hopes to throw off the mound sometime next week.
“It’s continuing the progression. It was a checkup to make sure that things are on track,” Holmes said. “Once we get on the mound, we’ll see how things are feeling and responding. We have to keep progressing. There will be mound build-up next week. We have to see how the ankle responds.”