Mets: Why Francisco Lindor is even more thankful for Edwin Díaz

Sure, the New York Mets are more than happy to have Edwin Díaz as the team’s closer. With 27 saves heading into Sunday as well as a 1.33 ERA/0.92 FIP/0.866 WHIP, what team wouldn’t want to have the right-hander coming out of the bullpen to the sound of trumpets to nail down a victory?

But for New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, the statistic about Díaz that sticks out to him (and that he says he is even more thankful for after an incident on Saturday night) is the reliever’s 17.9 strikeouts per nine innings number.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor avoided a potentially awkward situation on Saturday night

In the ninth inning of New York’s 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field and with Díaz on the mound to close out the game, Lindor said that his contact came out of his eye. Because of a vision issue in just one eye, the 28-year-old shortstop only wears one contact.

Could Lindor have made a play without his contact? See what he says below about it.

Diaz wasn’t his normal crisp self on Saturday, walking two to go along with a flyout and a groundout before striking out Nick Castellanos to end the contest. And yes, that groundout was in Lindor’s direction, with Bryson Stott hitting a sharp grounder to third to open the frame.

However, for Lindor and the Mets, all’s well that ends well, and Saturday ended with the Mets putting another game between themselves and the Phillies while Lindor avoided any moments where a missing contact could have potentially become a big part of the game story had a ball been hit his way.