It's simple, when Francisco Lindor does well, so do the Mets

The Mets’ success this season is largely the result of an ensemble production, better as a whole than as individuals, but their impressive series win in Atlanta over the Braves was an important reminder that if they want to be playing deep into October, they’re likely going to need their stars to do the heavy lifting.

Max Scherzer did his part on Monday, setting the tone with pitching brilliance.

And not to slight Chris Bassitt, who was very good as well in a series in which the Mets flat out out-pitched the Braves, the rubber game turned on a thunderous three-run home run by Francisco Lindor.

For a team that had been struggling to score runs in recent weeks, a team playing shorthanded against the big, bad Braves in this series -- to the point where Luis Guillorme was hitting cleanup -- it’s hard to overstate the importance of Lindor delivering in a moment when the Mets needed a kill shot.

Because let’s face it, when Lindor hits, the Mets usually win. To that point, he’s hitting .288 with an OPS of .844 in games they’ve won this season, including Wednesday’s 7-3 defeat of the Braves, compared to .164 with a .585 OPS in games they’ve lost.

And while he may never live up to that $341 million contract, Lindor probably doesn’t need to be a superstar for these Mets to win a championship. This is his third straight season with an OPS in the mid-.700s, so indications are that he’s not going to get back to being that 23-24-25 year old in Cleveland who put up eye-popping numbers.

But he still needs to be The Guy in this Mets’ lineup who can step up in moments like the one on Wednesday, when he shook off the fact that Charlie Morton had owned him during his career (he was 2-for-27 against him) and turned on a 96-mph fastball in the third inning that gave the Mets a 4-0 lead and changed everything.

In that sense, it was fitting because Lindor does change everything for the Mets when he’s a force at the plate.

On this day he was a difference-maker at shortstop as well, going deep in the hole -- actually, three steps into the grass -- to backhand a soft one-hopper by Adam Duvall and throw him out with a rather stunning show of arm-strength that Lindor has rarely displayed.

It was vital at the time, the last out of the fourth inning that stranded Braves’ runners at second and third. And to be fair, let’s give a nod to Mets’ coach Joey Cora, as Buck Showalter pointed out, for positioning Lindor far enough toward the hole to make such a play.

Still, it was an All-Star play, and Lindor knew it, pumping his fist coming off the field.

“That was fun,” Lindor told reporters in Atlanta. “That’s what I live for.”

Yes, he was quite proud, perhaps because Mets’ people say he has worked hard on his defense after some uncharacteristic throwing errors early in the season.

Lindor even alluded to that in his on-field interview with SNY’s Steve Gelbs, talking about the work he’s done with Cora before games, getting back to “staying in my legs” on throws like the one he made to get Duvall.

“That’s probably a game-changer right there,” Lindor told Gelbs. “So right there, I take a lot of pride in that.”

Lindor smiled then, in his interview with Gelbs, and again with reporters in the clubhouse. That’s who he is, right? Mr. Smile.

But we all know what happened last year, how sensitive he was to the booing at Citi Field, and perhaps that’s why, on the subject of his offense after Wednesday’s game, Lindor was more cautious with his comments.

When informed that with his three-run home run, his RBI total of 64 gave him more than he had all of last season, Lindor downplayed it, saying, “I don’t care about numbers.”

He said his focus is helping the team win, and maybe it’s as simple as that. Because, as he admitted, “last year at this time I was probably hitting .190. Now I’m healthier and I’m playing good baseball for the Mets.”

Kudos for that mentality but you can’t help wonder if he’s trying to figure out why, at age 28, he can’t seem to get back to those old Cleveland numbers. Showalter loves him and made a point after Wednesday’s game of essentially saying he thought Lindor should have made the All-Star team, but also made reference to his .244 batting average.

“His batting average is not where he wants it to be,” Showalter said, “But, my gosh, he’s playing shortstop consistently well, and he’s been stepping up all year.”

It’s true, Lindor has been clutch, ranking fourth in the NL in RBIs. He’s hitting .286 with runners in scoring position and, what is especially impressive is his .314 average with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Also, with three home runs in his last six games, Lindor has 16 for the season, on pace to be around 30 with over 100 RBIs, which is an All-Star season for any shortstop.

Still, when you talk to scouts about Lindor they are a bit puzzled by his up-and-down nature this season, while making the point that his broken finger certainly could have explained one of his slumps.

“High velocity seems to be a problem for him at times,” one scout told me Wednesday. “I think he recognizes it so he cheats to get to the fastball against certain guys, and that makes him vulnerable to the breaking stuff. I don’t remember that always being the case, but that’s what leads to inconsistency.

“He’ll still very dangerous because when he’s feeling good, and he’s relaxed at the plate, the ball still really jumps off his bat. You saw it against Morton today. That was a really impressive at-bat. He’s never had much success against Morton, and after Charlie slowed his bat down with a (2-and-1) breaking ball that he fouled off, Lindor was quick getting to a high-velocity fastball that was just above the belt and on the inner third (of the plate).

“So I wouldn’t bet against him getting to a higher level overall again. I just need to see it.”

For now the Mets are happy with this version of Lindor. In a lineup that has succeeded on the strength of its contact-hitting, this team looks mostly to him and Pete Alonso to hit big home runs and deliver in key situations.

On Wednesday, in a showdown game of sorts with the Braves, Lindor did both.