The Mets made a last-minute change to their lineup on Friday when they removed Francisco Lindor roughly 25 minutes before the scheduled first pitch against the Braves at Citi Field.
There was no immediate word on why Lindor was scratched, but 20 minutes into the game the team announced their infielder was dealing with right side soreness. The Mets announced he'll undergo imaging Saturday where an update will be given at that time.
Manager Buck Showalter said after the game Lindor wanted to play through it.
"He's a tough guy," Showalter said. "He plays through a lot of things. He wanted to [play] tonight. We'll get some imaging and see what we're dealing with and hopefully get our arms around it tomorrow."
Lindor also spoke to reporters after the game, explaining that he first felt something during pregame stretching but thought he was just not warmed up enough yet.
"I continued to go about my early work stuff, pregame stuff, then went into training room said 'this feels a little different,'" Lindor explained. "Let’s work through this and see where we’re at after. ... I trust their opinion, what they have in mind and [the trainers] said not risk it, not do it today. ... I want to play but I’ve been through a situation where I tried to play through it but didn’t work out in my favor."
Lindor did say he was already feeling better than he did before the game.
"Hopefully I can come in tomorrow and play two," he said.
Jonathan Arauz replaced Lindor at short while Francisco Alvarez was moved from fifth to second in the lineup.
The 29-year-old shortstop had played in every game this season.
Despite some stretches in which he struggled, Lindor has been a bright spot for the Mets this season. He has a .246/.333/.469 slash line with an .803 OPS and 22 home runs and 69 RBI.