WASHINGTON — Francisco Lindor wanted to get it over with before this season concluded.
Hitters seldom go to the plate trying to hit home runs, but Lindor was in that mode Sunday and succeeded. His second-inning blast served as career homer No. 300 in the Mets’ 6-4 loss to the Nationals.
The Mets shortstop had been sitting at No. 299 since Sept. 12, when he homered twice against the Yankees.
“I wasn’t trying [to homer] the past couple of days, I was just trying to have good at-bats,” Lindor said. “And then today I said, ‘I am going to try to hit a home run.’ It doesn’t work out that way all the time, but today it did. Some way it worked out, so it’s not something I am going to take into next year.”
Lindor, who missed two months with a calf strain, finished his season with 21 homers and a .732 OPS.
“To hit 300 [homers] you have got to be healthy for a long time,” Lindor said. “The trainers here, in Cleveland, my people, have helped me a lot to stay on the field. It seems like it’s a day for me, but it’s for all these people that wish me to be better day in and day out that made me better.”
Sean Manaea allowed five earned runs on seven hits and one walk over six innings to conclude his season with a 4.78 ERA.
The lefty said his focus this offseason will be building up velocity. Manaea struggled this season to maintain consistency with his fastball.
“At least having that for spring training, at least from the [start] and then my breaking ball,” Manaea said.
Manaea appeared on the right track at midseason — he had a brutal three months to begin the season — but concluded with a 6.35 ERA over his final seven starts.
“I would say [this season] was a disappointment — we didn’t as a team do what we needed to do,” Manaea said. “I personally didn’t need to do what I needed to do. There were flashes of some really good times. There was also a lot of negative things. Overall, I would say it was a disappointment.”
Carson Benge went 3-for-5 for a third straight multihit game. He batted .462 over his final 10 games this season.
Ronny Mauricio finished his season with a bang: He blasted his third homer in two days.
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