Francisco Lindor’s high-IQ play vs. Cardinals reignites Mets captaincy conversation

New York Mets star Francisco Lindor garnered attention from MLB fans after his standout performance in the team’s recent game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets started their four-game series against the Cardinals on Thursday at Citi Field.

After a scoreless first inning from both teams, the Mets’ offense came alive in the second. Mark Vientos launched a 338-foot solo homer to open the scoring. Shortly after, Brett Baty hit a single that allowed Starling Marte to cross home plate.

Tyrone Taylor then followed with a single, moving Baty to second. With two runners on base, Francisco Lindor displayed his baseball IQ with a single that brought in two more runs.

After Baty scored and Taylor reached third, Lindor who was heading for second, slowed down midway and gestured for Taylor to take off toward home. The Cardinals eventually tagged Lindor out in the rundown, but the baserunning helped the Mets jump to a 4-0 lead.

Several fans took to X to react to Lindor’s crafty play:

“Best cerebral player in the game!” a fan said.

“This is an incredible play,” another fan said.

“I was so mad. Then I was so happy,” another fan wrote.

Many others chimed in, calling for Francisco Lindor to be named the Mets’ captain:

“Captain doing Captain things,” a comment reads.

“Now make him the captain already!!” another comment reads.

“That’s some high IQ stuff there Cap way to go!” someone wrote.

Francisco Lindor finished Thursday’s game going 3-for-4 with one RBI. After Lindor’s smart baserunning play in the second inning, the Mets’ offense didn’t score again. However, their pitching staff stepped up, allowing just one run to the Cardinals in the third, securing a 4-1 victory.

Francisco Lindor announced as captain of Team Puerto Rico for 2026 World Baseball Classic

On Wednesday, Francisco Lindor announced that he will be reprising his role as Team Puerto Rico’s captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Sharing the news in an Instagram post, Lindor wrote:

“Honored to be captain of Team Puerto Rico for the 2026 World Baseball Classic 🇵🇷 Vamos mi borinquén!”

Lindor also served as the team’s captain during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Back in February, the star shortstop was asked about potentially being named captain of the New York Mets. He responded (via SI.com):

“I do feel like I’m one of the leaders of the team. But there is a lot of leaders in [the clubhouse], you know. The captain thing is something that is not up for me to decide. If it does happen, it would be fantastic.”

The New York Mets will face the St. Louis Cardinals again on Friday at Citi Field in the second game of their series.

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Chirag Dhariya is a baseball reporter at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience in content writing and SEO. While it may not seem directly related to his current profession, Chirag believes his graduation in Commerce instilled in him the research and analytical skills essential for this job.

A New York Mets fan, Chirag was introduced to baseball and its popularity in Japan, thanks to anime. He considers Sonny Gray securing his 100th career win in the same place where he got his first win – the Oakland Coliseum, as one of his favorite moments from recent MLB history.

Chirag’s writing process involves meticulous research and multiple proofreads to ensure his articles provide the readers with accurate facts packaged in a simple yet engaging manner.

He is also a Google Analytics enthusiast and a huge anime fan who likes to keep himself updated with the current trends in the genre.

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