PHILADELPHIA — Francisco Lindor’s sore lower back cost him his first game of the season on Saturday, ending the possibility he would play all 162 for the Mets this year.

“That has never been my goal,” Lindor said after the Mets lost 6-4 to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “My goal is to be available every single day. … Hopefully I can play the next 14 games that we have left.”
Felix Millan (1975) is the only Mets player to appear in every game of the regular season. John Olerud appeared in 162 games for the Mets in 1999, but the Mets played 163 that season because of a one-game tiebreaker with the Reds.

Pete Alonso still has a chance at playing all 162 games for the Mets this season.

On Friday, Lindor departed in the seventh inning after he “jammed” the back when he didn’t slide into second base and ran past the bag on a double. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns called Lindor’s injury a muscular “tweak.”

The Mets recalled Luisangel Acuna from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday and gave the 22-year-old infielder/outfielder his first major league start, replacing Lindor.

Acuna went 2-for-4 with two singles.

“He looks very relaxed,” Lindor said. “But he had the same demeanor in spring training and now since I have met him I feel that is who he is going to be who he is. He was even-keeled today. He looked fantastic today and knew when to take, when not to take, when to be aggressive.”

Lindor tried to talk his way into the lineup, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, but it was decided that caution should be exercised with the team’s best player and most irreplaceable piece.

“He wants to play,” Mendoza said. “But at the same time he knows I don’t want to put him in a situation where he is overcompensating and that leads to something else. I thought it was best that he at least rests the first few innings of the game and then we’ll see what happens.”