CLEVELAND — Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor made his return to the major-league club Saturday night, and in his second at-bat of the season, the three-time All-Star infielder hit a single to right-center field in front of the home fans at Progressive Field.
At the plate with second baseman Mike Freeman on first after a one-out single to center field, Lindor worked his way into a favorable 2-1 count and drove a sinking fastball from Atlanta Braves starter Touki Toussaint through the defensive shift and into right-center field for the base hit.
Lindor and Freeman came around to score two batters later when infielder Jose Ramirez smacked a single into center field. Designated hitter Carlos Santana followed Ramirez’s RBI single with one of his own that brought around outfielder Leonys Martin, who was on base after getting hit by a pitch in the second consecutive at bat.
The Indians plated five runs in the second inning and took a 7-0 lead over the Braves into the third.
Lindor was activated from the injured list on Saturday morning after missing the first three weeks of the 2019 regular season because of calf and ankle injuries. After sitting out the first game of the traditional doubleheader with the Braves, Lindor made the start at shortstop and served as the leadoff hitter in the nightcap.
Last season, Lindor led the Indians with 183 hits and 42 doubles, was tied for third in triples, third in runs batted in and second with 38 home runs. Lindor set a club record for leadoff home runs, as he started nine games with round-trippers in 2018.
The 38 home runs were a Major League record for switch-hitting shortstops.
Through 575 games over his first four-plus years with the Indians, Lindor has collected 666 hits, including 138 doubles, 13 triples and 98 home runs, with 310 runs batted in, 378 runs scored and 214 walks drawn against 358 strikeouts. Additionally, Lindor has stolen 71 bases in 91 attempts.
Lindor has a .288 career batting average with .350 on-base, .487 slugging and .837 on-base-plus-slugging percentages.
