Why Francisco Lindor Is 'Proud' To Be A Met After Scary Hit By Pitch

Why Francisco Lindor is "proud" to be a Met after a scary hit by pitch moment against the Nationals on Friday night.

WASHINGTON -- Francisco Lindor was fortunate to come out of Friday's game with the Nationals mostly unscathed.

In a scary moment in the fifth inning, Lindor was struck near his jaw area by a pitch from Steve Cishek. This resulted in a heated benches clearing situation between the Mets and Nats', as Lindor laid on the ground shaken up afterwards.

Although he was forced to exit the game, Lindor's X-Rays on his jaw came back negative and he cleared the concussion protocol.

Luckily, all Lindor came away with was a scratch on his jaw and a slightly cracked tooth, but he's okay. 

"I can still smile," Lindor joked in front of his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park.

"I feel good, I'm glad I'm here answering questions. God is on my side."

Lindor's biggest takeaway from the situation came from the way his team backed him up in the heat of the moment. For that, he is proud to be a part of this Mets club. 

"I'm proud of being a New York Met," Lindor said. "I got hit, was on the ground, I heard scuffles. (Then) the whole entire team and coaching staff is out there."

Here’s Francisco Lindor, who says he’s proud to be a Met because of the way his team backed him up tonight after he was hit by a pitch pic.twitter.com/MWxkqXlTmW

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) April 9, 2022

"Everybody from Buck (Showalter), Eric Chavez, (Robinson) Cano, Pete (Alonso) and I could see the bullpen sprinting in," he added. "That says a lot. I'm super proud to be a New York Met and to be with this group of guys here. I respect them a lot. I admire them and I'm glad I'm sharing the field with them every day."

"I'm happy that when I looked up, my boys were out there."

When asked if he will be able to be in the lineup on Saturday, Lindor said he hopes so, but he will need to see how he feels when he wakes up.

According to Lindor, Cishek apologized to him afterwards and said he did not try to hit him on purpose.

"As a man, I respect that," Lindor said.

Second baseman Jeff McNeil, who reached base safely four times, drove in two runs and hit a home run on his 30th birthday in this contest, reiterated Lindor's comments. McNeil believes Friday night's situation is one that can further increase the unity of the team. 

"Absolutely," McNeil said. "Everybody on this team has got each other's back. We saw it today, so It's nice to have the whole team out there.

"This is a good group of guys, very close knit. The guys that we brought in have blended real well, so I'm happy to be a part of this team."

Diaz Headed For Bereavement List

As Mets manager Buck Showalter revealed during his postgame press conference on Friday night, closer Edwin Diaz learned that his grandfather passed away during the game. 

Diaz will travel to Puerto Rico on Saturday to be with his family and will likely land on the bereavement list. It is currently unknown regarding how long the Mets will be without their closer.