Mets' Mendoza confused by Lindor's mental mistakes: 'It's weird'

Francisco Lindor hasn't played like his usual self during the early stages of the season and New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza doesn't understand why.

"It's weird because that's not him," Mendoza said when asked about the star shortstop's series of mental errors.

"It's hard to explain. He'll be the first one, he'll tell you that he's got to be better. Never seen that, some of those plays that he's just out of position at times."

Lindor had a mental lapse in the second inning of Saturday's 11-6 loss to the Athletics, which proved costly.

The infielder ran past second base to field a ball that was destined for the glove of Marcus Semien, which took him out of position to turn an inning-ending double play. The A's wound up scoring on the play and went on to plate seven runs in 2 1/3 innings off Mets starter Kodai Senga.

Lindor held himself accountable for the mistake, though the Mets as a whole also contributed to the poor defense behind Senga during their fourth straight loss.

Lindor's growing list of errors are an understandable source of frustration, but the 32-year-old expects to play better baseball as the season goes on.

"I'm a professional baseball player and I've just got to be better. I've got to help this team win," he said.