Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo powering through injuries, but can't lift Mets over Pirates
New York Mets' Brandon Nimmo is greeted by Francisco Lindor after his solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Who says the rest of the Mets games this season don’t mean anything?
Pretty much everybody. But don’t tell that to Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo.
Lindor and Nimmo are playing through mild injuries and playing well as the Mets finish out the season.
Nimmo tied his career high with his 17th home run, a leadoff shot in the first, in the Mets’ 7-4 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
On Monday, Lindor swiped his 20th base to become the first Met with at least 20 stolen bases and 20 home runs since Carlos Beltran (now a special assistant to the Mets general manager) in 2008. Lindor has 22 home runs.
Sure, the Mets aren’t playing for a spot in the postseason. But they are playing for pride, and Lindor and Nimmo both have a lot of that.
“I owe it to the fans, I owe it to my teammates, I owe it to this organization, and I owe it to myself,” Lindor said on Monday after the Mets’ 7-2 victory over the Pirates. “I will go every day and give everything I have, no matter what.
“There is always a reason to play the game — whether it’s to be better, be in the playoffs, for your numbers, or for the young kid that saved money to come watch you play. There is a reason to play the game. So no matter what, you have to give it everything you got.”
Lindor recently missed two games with right side soreness, the first games he had missed all season. He had an MRI on Saturday morning, and after sitting out Game 1 of the Mets’ day/night doubleheader against Atlanta, returned for the nightcap.
Nimmo has been dealing with a left quad contusion, and after also sitting out Saturday’s doubleheader opener — which the Mets lost, 21-3, — Nimmo returned at a new position in the nightcap. Buck Showalter moved him from centerfield to left to lessen the stress on his leg.
Nimmo started his fourth consecutive game in left on Tuesday.
“It’s really helped out my leg because it’s less exposure to high speed in leftfield,” Nimmo said. “Everything happens in shorter parameters, so I’m able to get to everything without any hindering problems, and that’s allowing my leg to heal as I’m playing.”
Nimmo, after going 2-for-4, has a seven-game hitting streak, during which he is 11-for-27 (.407) with two home runs.
“Went through July, which was a bit of a tough month for me (.161 average),” Nimmo said. “You go through ups and downs, and I’ve been able to have a good little stretch here the last seven days. Just trying to ride that wave as long as we can.”
The Mets had won two in a row going into Tuesday, but were unable to ride that mini-wave. The game was tied at 1 in the seventh when the Pirates loaded the bases with one out against reliever Jose Butto, who was called up before the game.
Showalter called in rookie Grant Hartwig, who had a nightmare outing. A four-pitch walk to Jack Suwinski made it 2-1. Hartwig hit Jared Triolo with his next pitch to make it 3-1. The next pitch was a ball that got by catcher Francisco Alvarez for a passed ball and a 4-1 deficit.
It continued. Jason Delay stroked a two-run double to right-center. Two batters later, Bryan Reynolds lined a hit to center that trickled under the glove of a lunging/falling/kind of diving Tim Locastro. It was scored an RBI triple to give the Pirates a 7-1 lead.
“I’ve got to do better,” Hartwig said. “I’ve got to attack the hitters more in that situation and ultimately just got to be better.”
Pinch hitter DJ Stewart (two-run homer) and Jonathan Arauz went back-to-back in the seventh to bring the Mets back to within 7-4.
David Peterson started for the Mets and allowed just one run, but walked six and hit a batter in 3 2⁄3 innings.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
