The rainout on Saturday qualified as an off-day for Francisco Lindor, who surely will be one of several Mets to perform double-duty during the doubleheader Sunday.
The Mets need Lindor perhaps more than ever after they optioned Luis Guillorme, their only true backup shortstop.
Lindor, who has started all 46 games this season at shortstop, is perfectly happy with his workload.
“I take a lot of pride in taking care of my body to be on the field every single day,” Lindor said recently. “I want to be available for 162.”
Lindor is the only Met who has started every game in the field.
Pete Alonso also has been in every lineup, but has served as the DH a few times.
In an era when player rest is a greater concern than ever, Lindor played 161 games last season.
He only missed one after he fractured his finger when it got caught in a hotel door in Los Angeles.
A year later, he still thinks he could have played in that June 2 game against the Dodgers.
“I played the next day, so what’s the difference?” said Lindor, who has never played 162 games, but played all 60 games of the shortened 2020 campaign and at least 158 games in three seasons with Cleveland.
The Mets are more than a quarter of the way to the finish line, and Lindor has not accepted a day off yet.
With the current roster construction, there are no viable options behind him (Eduardo Escobar, Jeff McNeil and even Mark Canha are in the running, manager Buck Showalter said this week), so Lindor’s breaks arise during rainouts and occasionally in the last inning of blowouts.
Lindor said, though, that starting 162 games for the first time is not a goal.
“Winning is a goal for me,” said Lindor, who is off to a slow start offensively (.732 OPS), but came through with the game-winning, 10th-inning single Friday against the Guardians.
“If it’s best to be on the field every day, then I’ll do it.
“I always tell Buck: If he posts up, and if he’s there, I’ll do it, too.”
The game against the Guardians that was postponed by rain on Saturday will be made up as part of a split-doubleheader on Sunday, with the first game at 1:40 p.m. and the nightcap at 7:10 p.m.
Fans with paid tickets for the Saturday game can use them for the first game on Sunday.
Following the conclusion of the first game on Sunday, fans holding a paid ticket valid for entry to the postponed game who do not attend the makeup game will receive a digital voucher in their My Mets Tickets account (accessible Monday by clicking the Vouchers tab) that may be exchanged for a ticket comparable in price and location to another regular-season game this season at Citi Field — excluding the June 3 Mets Hall of Fame Ceremony and the June 13-14 Subway Series against the Yankees, subject to availability.
— Additional reporting
by Dan Martin