Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor HRs help Mets blast past Nationals
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and leftfielder Brandon Nimmo celebrate their 7-5 win against the Nationals in an MLB game at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Days after Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo were snubbed from this year’s All-Star Game, the duo opted to put on some midsummer theatrics of their own.
Nimmo, who ranks third among National League outfielders in wins above replacement, and Lindor, who ranks fourth of any player in the NL, each hit homers to pace the Mets to a 7-5 win Tuesday night over the Nationals at Citi Field. The victory brings the Mets (45-45) back to .500.
Nimmo hit a three-run shot in the second, his 15th of the season, to give the Mets a 4-0 lead, while Lindor tacked on in the sixth, with a two-run bomb of his own to make it 6-0.
“I thought I had a pretty dang good shot,” Nimmo said of an All-Star selection. “I was pretty surprised when I wasn’t on there. Just statistically speaking, I’m usually pretty truthful with myself and in a lot of the categories that matter, I’m up there.”
Lindor, meanwhile, was ready to shift gears: “It’s something that I’m kind of ready to turn the page. I would love to be in the All-Star Game, yes. It would be an honor . . . but I’m focused on this. It’s something I don’t want to talk about because, at the end of the day, it is what it is.”
Either way, the two have let the boxscore do the talking: Since being moved to the leadoff spot, Lindor has scored 35 runs, with 18 doubles, 27 RBIs and nine of his 16 homers in 46 games. After an early season slump, Nimmo came into the day slashing .316/.403/.581 since June 1.
Meanwhile, Jose Quintana wove another gem, throwing seven scoreless innings, Lindor was 3-for-4 with a walk and Harrison Bader went 3-for-4.
They would need all of that. The Mets had a 6-0 lead before the bullpen imploded (again), with Adam Ottavino and Reed Garrett each giving up two-run homers to make it 7-4. With a runner on and two outs in the ninth, Edwin Diaz floated a wild pitch that Francisco Alvarez lost sight of, chasing a run home. Diaz, though, struck out CJ Abrams to end it for his ninth save. The relief corps has a 10.50 ERA since July 1, though David Stearns hoped to mitigate some of that by trading for Rays reliever Phil Maton earlier Tuesday.
“These guys are going through a rough stretch,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re riding these guys pretty hard, you know? So I’m 100% confident that they’ll bounce back.”
The Mets were able to adjust against Jake Irvin after the Nationals righty manhandled them last week — and they did it in economical fashion.
Jeff McNeil started a two-out rally by working out a walk in the second, Bader singled softly to left and Lindor followed that up with a single of his own, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Nimmo then slammed a towering fly ball to left that seemed to carry and carry (and carry), fooling leftfielder James Wood before sailing over the railing for the three-run homer.
Lindor hit his two-run shot in the sixth, when he blasted Irvin’s grooved 91.1-mph fastball 391 feet to right.
After one-hitting the Mets over eight innings last week, Irvin allowed the six runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts over six innings.
Quintana, who also pitched seven shutout innings in his previous start — also against the Nationals — picked up exactly where he left off. He replicated the feat Tuesday, allowing no runs on one hit with a walk and five strikeouts. Over his last five starts, Quintana has a 0.89 ERA.
Ottavino let up a two-run homer to Ildemaro Vargas to bring the Nationals within 6-2 in the eighth, McNeil had an RBI double in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-2, and Garrett was charged with the three runs in the ninth.
“At the end of the day, we got the job done,” Mendoza said. “It took us a few guys to come in and get it done, but I’ll take it.”
n Injury updates
Kodai Senga (shoulder) threw 52 pitches (30 for strikes) and allowed two hits and two walks in 2 2⁄3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. The Mets hope to continue to build him up, though there’s no firm plan on his progression. Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder) played catch at 120 feet and will hopefully throw a bullpen session in the next two to three days, Mendoza said.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
