Francisco Lindor powers Mets over Nationals for seventh straight win

WASHINGTON — Francisco Lindor couldn’t have picked a better time to show the Mets he is still a star. 

In the heat of a pennant race, the team has received important offensive contributions from players such as Starling Marte, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo. But Lindor’s consistency might be the most underrated aspect of the team’s steady play. 

Monday night, Lindor watched others in the lineup contribute to build a lead before he delivered the haymaker: a three-run homer in the sixth inning that helped the Mets beat the hapless Nationals, 7-3, at Nationals Park. 

The Mets’ winning streak reached a season-high seven games on a night Max Scherzer wasn’t his sharpest but persevered for the win. The other half of the team’s dynamic duo, Jacob deGrom, is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night. DeGrom will be appearing in a regular season game for the Mets for the first time since July 7 of last year. 

Lindor posted a .933 OPS in July, which tied his best full month offensively since arriving to the Mets. And so far, so good in August. With the Mets ahead, 4-3, in the sixth, he crushed a shot to left-center against Steve Cishek for his 18th homer of the season, after Nimmo had doubled with two outs and Marte was hit by a pitch. It was Cishek who hit Lindor in the face in April, putting a scare into the Mets. But Lindor returned for the next game. 

Lindor’s homer total ranks second on the team to Alonso’s 27. Lindor extended his RBI total to 73, a testament to players such as Nimmo and Marte getting on base ahead of him, as much as Lindor’s penchant for delivering with runners on base. 

Four two-strike singles in the second helped the Mets score three times to take a 3-1 lead. Alonso walked and Mark Canha singled to begin the stretch of two-strike hits. Jeff McNeil and Tomas Nido each stroked an RBI single in the inning. Marte’s single was the Mets’ fifth hit of the frame, but Nido was thrown out at the plate by Juan Soto for the third out. 

Alonso smashed a solo homer in the third that extended the Mets’ lead to 4-1. The blast was Alonso’s 11th in 33 games at Nationals Park and gave him 86 RBIs this season. 

Scherzer lasted 6 ²/₃ innings and allowed three runs, two of which were earned, on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks. The win was No. 197 in Scherzer’s career. 

Scherzer scuffled in the fourth, allowing two runs that shrunk the Mets’ lead to 4-3. Soto homered leading off the inning and three straight singles on first pitches — by Yadiel Hernandez, Nelson Cruz and Luis Garcia — gave the Nationals another run. Soto’s blast might have been a parting gift to the Washington fans — it’s possible he will be dealt by Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline after last month rejecting a reported 15-year contract extension from the club worth $440 million. 

The Nationals scored an unearned run against Scherzer in the first inning. After Soto drew a two-out walk, Josh Bell doubled to right field. Marte threw to an unoccupied second base — instead of hitting the cutoff — allowing Soto to race home. Bell reached third on the play, but was left stranded.