Mets star Francisco Lindor injured after suspect run out of the box

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was removed from Friday’s game against the Pirates with an injury.

Looking to turn around his offensive woes, shortstop Francisco Lindor and the New York Mets have gotten off to a less than ideal start in their first game back after the All-Star break.

In his second at-bat of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, Lindor rolled a pitch over to the second baseman and immediately reached towards his right oblique area after his swing. He did a slight jog a few steps out of the batter’s box before peeling off towards the dugout as Pittsburgh completed an easy 4-6-3 double play.

Lindor was immediately removed from the game and replaced by infielder Luis Guillorme.

Francisco Lindor has to leave Friday’s game

Obliques are always a tricky injury. If a player comes back too soon, it can increase the damage and keep a player out for a long time. While the severity of Lindor’s injury remains to be seen, it’s expected the Mets will take extreme caution with their $341 million shortstop.

Lindor notched a base hit in his first at-bat of the night before grounding into that double play. It was a good sign given Lindor’s underperforming offensive numbers this season.

In 361 plate appearances, Lindor is slashing .227/.326/.377 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. That line is far below Lindor’s career numbers, which include a .280 batting average and .822 OPS in his seven seasons in the big leagues.

Through all the boos from Mets fans at home this season, Lindor has swung the bat well in his last 12 games going into Friday’s contest. He’s slashing .313/.478/.486 with two home runs and 10 RBIs during that span.

Despite Lindor’s slow start, New York has kept their heads above water and sit atop the AL East with a 3.5-game lead.

If they want to make a deep run in October, they’ll need a healthy Lindor playing at a high level.