Francisco Lindor, Carlos Mendoza Address Mets Star's Fielding Blunder in Loss to A's

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was at a loss when asked to explain Francisco Lindor's defensive lapses in his club's 11-6 loss to the visiting Athletics on Saturday.

Lindor, who has struggled defensively throughout the Mets' ongoing four-game losing streak, was out of position on a potential second-inning double play on which the Athletics sent home a go-ahead run.

"It's weird, because that's not him," Mendoza said Saturday when asking about Lindor's fielding struggles. "It's hard to explain. And he'll be the first one, he'll tell you that he's got to be better.

"But, yeah. Never seen some of those plays that he's just out of position at times."

Lindor blamed himself after the game for not helping pitcher Kodai Senga, who recorded the loss after allowing eight hits and seven earned runs in 2.1 innings before getting pulled in the shortest start of his MLB career.

"I went after the ball, and Marcus was there, and didn't make it to second base, and didn't turn over the play," Lindor said. "Senga could have gotten out of the inning, right there, and I didn't help him."

When asked if he'd been putting more pressure on himself because of the Mets' uneven start to the season, Lindor answered, "There's always been pressure, and I've always put a lot of pressure on myself, because I expect a lot out of myself. So, no. The same every single year."

This is not the first time Lindor has taken the blame for an early-season defensive mistake.

Lindor expressed regret after miscounting outs and getting picked off base just before a Juan Soto home run in a 2-1 extra-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 1.

He also missed out on a potential double play when the Mets opened this weekend's series with a Friday night loss to the A's.

These mistakes are coming after a shortened offseason for Lindor, who underwent surgery to address a stress reaction in his left hamate bone on Feb. 11 and didn't play his first defensive inning until March 10.

Lindor said Saturday, however, that he didn't want to use his delayed start to spring training as "an excuse."

"I'm a professional baseball player, and I've just got to be better. I've got to help this team win," Lindor said.

Soto is expected to miss between two to three weeks with a right calf strain after being placed on the injured list retroactive to April 4.

His absence has coincided with a quiet stretch for the Mets offense, which despite racking up six runs on Saturday has been outscored 29-9 over their four-game losing streak.

The Mets will need to find more consistent defense, and more offensive depth beyond Soto, in order to recover from their slow season start and resume climbing the NL East standings. That will start Sunday afternoon at Citi Field as the Mets close out this weekend's series against the A's.