Lindor preaches patience with Mets slumping: 'Welcome to August'

Injured Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor isn't losing faith in his club despite New York losing seven of nine games and falling out of first place in the NL East.

"Everybody is working really hard," Lindor said Saturday, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. "It's the same thing from Day 1. It's just so late in the season and now you see things fluctuating a little bit.

"I think it's just, welcome to August. It's that month in the season where some teams suffer, some teams feel better, some teams play better in September. So, hopefully we have a great team in September and a better team in October."

The Mets had been in first since early May before the Philadelphia Phillies passed them after Friday's game.

With the Mets seemingly in free fall, the Phillies and Atlanta Braves have taken advantage. Philadelphia has won six straight to take over the division lead while the Braves are winners of four in a row and only trail New York by half a game for second place.

The Mets were relatively quiet at the July 31 trade deadline. However, they did acquire infielder Javier Baez and right-hander Trevor Williams from the Chicago Cubs after already landing southpaw Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in July.

Lindor remains without a specific timeline for his return from a Grade 2 oblique strain, but he's recently ramped up baseball activities by hitting off a tee, taking ground balls, and playing catch, Thosar notes.