LOS ANGELES—Forget thumbs. That was so last year. This season, Francisco Lindor’s middle finger is making headlines.
Lindor was out of the Mets lineup for their series opener against the Dodgers on Thursday after an accident in his hotel room.
“After I finished my massage I went to my room,” the shortstop explained at Chavez Ravine. “I have double doors. I went to close one, I didn’t think the other one was going to close, and they closed at the same time. Next thing you know, I got a swollen finger.”
Lindor sported a bloated, black and blue middle finger on his right hand on Thursday.
“I ran around the room for like three minutes,” Lindor recalled. “I didn’t want to look at it, and when I finally looked at it, I was like OK. I felt like I had my heart in that one finger.”
The Mets and Lindor are hopeful that he will be back in the lineup and playing shortstop on Friday against Dodgers left-hander Tyler Anderson (6-0, 2.90 ERA). On Thursday, Lindor said the injury was impacting throwing more than hitting, because he couldn’t feel the sensation in his swollen middle finger, which led to a poor grip on the baseball. He said he was 12 years old the last time he pinched his finger.
Lindor had played in all 52 Mets games leading up to the series opener here, which leads the major leagues. It was possible, Mets manager Buck Showalter said, that the shortstop would be available to pinch-hit on Thursday, which would keep his streak alive. But Lindor wasn’t too concerned about that.
“It wasn’t a goal of mine to play 162 [games],” he said. “I want to be out there every day; do whatever it takes to help the team. But I never played 162, and I wasn’t saying I need to play 162. I want to play the most games possible.
“Sucks that I’m not out there with the boys. But God has a plan, and I gotta follow it.”
Lindor, who was named the National League’s Player of the Week for May 23-29, entered Thursday tied for fifth in the majors and ranked third in the NL with 37 runs scored. He was also tied for third in MLB with 43 RBI, including 20 of those RBI coming in his last 10 games. Lindor is hitting .600 (9-for-15) with runners in scoring position during his career-high 10-game RBI streak.
The Mets certainly could’ve used more of that production in their opener against the Dodgers, who have the second-best record in the NL, after the Amazin’s. But sliding hotel doors had other plans.
“Stay away from those doors,” Lindor said as he walked away from his scrum with reporters in the visiting dugout.
