Francisco Lindor snaps 0-for-26 slump with single in ninth inning vs. Cards

Francisco Lindor got the monkey off his back.

The shortstop snapped his 0-for-26 slump at the plate with a two-out single to right field in the ninth inning of the Mets’ 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Thursday. Lindor’s teammates in the Mets dugout were noticeably happy for him as he took first base, raised his hands and wiggled his fingers at them in a tempered celebration.

“As soon as I hit the ball, I was just hoping that nobody caught it,” Lindor said, laughing. “When it went through, there was a smile on my face and a little bit of my shoulders came down — I had them above my ears — they came down.”

Lindor drew three walks in addition to the single, his first hit since April 27, on Thursday.

“The swing looked more balanced, more connected today,” Luis Rojas said after the Mets’ 4-1 win. “He had a really good approach getting on base four times.”

Lindor said the “tip of the iceberg” for him arrived Wednesday in Game 1 of the Mets’ doubleheader against St. Louis, when he committed a throwing error along with his 0-for-3 afternoon while batting leadoff. Nolan Arenado’s routine grounder to Lindor should’ve been the final out of the fifth inning. Instead, the defensive miscue extended the frame and the next batter, Paul DeJong, crushed a two-run home run.

The two-time Gold Glove shortstop said he takes his defense seriously and felt awful for his error that cost Marcus Stroman a couple of runs. Lindor was benched for Game 2 of the doubleheader before returning to the lineup on Thursday.

“I made the error and there was a home run right after,” Lindor said. “That to me is when I was like, ‘Damn. This is not good at all.’”

The 27-year-old will need a substantial hot streak to even out his slow start in his first year as a Met. He ended Thursday batting .163 with a .504 OPS on the season, hoping the worst was behind him.

“It sucks,” Lindor said of being in a slump. “It’s not fun. Whenever you’re not helping the team and you’re winning-driven, you go home and you start wondering, ‘Alright. I gotta do something to help the team win.’”