Francisco Lindor likes the pressure of a playoff race. He surely liked the New York Mets' response to the pressure Wednesday night. Lindor and the Mets will look to earn a key series win Thursday afternoon when they host the Oakland Athletics in the rubber game of a three-game interleague set.
Left-hander Jose Quintana (6-8, 4.10 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against right-hander Mitch Spence (7-8, 4.33).
Lindor helped fuel an offensive outburst from the leadoff spot Wednesday night, when the Mets snapped a four-game skid by cruising to a 9-1 victory. The Mets scored just five runs during their losing streak. But the top five batters in the starting lineup Wednesday -- Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, J.
D. Martinez, Jesse Winker and Pete Alonso -- combined to go 8-for-19 with seven RBIs. Lindor was 2-for-5 with a solo homer while Alonso finished 4-for-4 with a homer and a double.
The win allowed the Mets to remain two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the final National League wild-card spot. The Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 13-2 late Wednesday night. New York was in 13th place in the NL with a 22-33 record through May 29 but surged into the playoff race by going 39-21 before the four-game losing streak -- the Mets' longest since they lost five straight from May 20-25.
"We like the pressure -- we love the pressure," Lindor said. "Pressure means we're doing something that matters, and I like that. (We) thrive under the pressure.
"We know we have a great oppo.