Mets' Francisco Lindor has cracked tooth but he's ready to play

WASHINGTON — Francisco Lindor’s dentist appointment can wait.

The shortstop was back in the Mets’ lineup Saturday night, a day after getting beaned by Nationals reliever Steve Cishek, a mishap that left Lindor with a cracked tooth but otherwise fine.

Upon arriving at Nationals Park more than five hours before first pitch, the Mets put him through a battery of tests, all of which he passed, earning clearance to play.

“There’s two parts to it: He’s physically ready to go and he wants to go,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Because I said, ‘What do you want to do?’ He said, ‘I’m playing. I want to play.’ So as long as medical signs off, we’re in good shape. He’s lucky.”

Lindor said before the game: “I feel good, so I want to play.”

There was, though, the oral issue. He said he intends to visit the dentist when the Mets get back to New York, which won’t be until Wednesday night.

“Last night, I tried to eat and it hurt a lot,” Lindor said. “It hurts like if I had a cavity or something. Hopefully the Mets got good insurance.”

Lindor was the second Mets batter in two games to be hit in the face by a pitch, following Pete Alonso getting a glancing blow from Mason Thompson’s offering Thursday night. When Lindor went down, Showalter came out of the dugout and everybody on both teams followed in the first benches-clearing episode of the year.

Lindor said he did not want to comment on the intent of the pitch that got him, but he was thankful for the flood of texts and calls from friends, former teammates and others. He was happy to be fine.

“I feel good, so thank God,” he said. “Everything is good.”

n  Diaz takes leave

Edwin Diaz, placed on the bereavement list Saturday, headed to his native Puerto Rico after the death of his grandfather.

Showalter said Diaz plans to rejoin the Mets in Philadelphia on Monday, though he won’t be eligible to be activated until Tuesday. Players on the bereavement list need to miss at least three games (and can miss up to seven).

“It’s tough. He was close to his grandfather. It happened very quickly,” Showalter said. “If he needs more time, he’ll stay. Billy [Eppler] and I talked to him about it. It’s his life. What he needs, he’ll take. Sad. I know he’s pretty emotional.”

On the topic of fill-in closers, Showalter referenced “some people who are capable of doing it and have done it in the past.” Adam Ottavino has the most saves experience and Seth Lugo and Trevor May have done it some.

The Mets activated lefthander David Peterson, who will serve as a long reliever if needed, to take Diaz’s roster spot. He already was in town as a member of the taxi squad.

n  Conspiracy guy

Showalter on the lights outage/delay at Nationals Park just before first pitch Friday: “A conspiracy guy would’ve thought maybe they did it to mess with Max [Scherzer].”

Is he a conspiracy guy?

“Not me,” he said. “I’m not paranoid. I’m alert.”

n  Extra bases

The Mets’ defensively inclined lineup Saturday night included Dominic Smith at first base (with Alonso as the DH) plus Luis Guillorme at third base and Travis Jankowski in leftfield getting their first starts.

Showalter wants everybody to play.

“Shame on us if two weeks from now they haven’t played and we can’t figure out why they can’t contribute,” he said. “We gotta keep them in the flow. We look at them as regular irregulars.”

Similarly, Showalter wants to use his lefthanded relievers before the Mets play the lefty-heavy Phillies beginning Monday.