Brandon Nimmos booming bat leads Mets thumping of Nationals in series closer
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Nimmo’s RBI total tied the franchise mark for a single game, established by Carlos Delgado in 2008.It was the kind of day the Mets (20-9) needed after two walk-off losses in the series, including on Sunday, when the bullpen blew a six-run lead.Carlos Mendoza’s crew finished with a split in the series and will return to Citi Field for three games against the Diamondbacks beginning Tuesday.Batting again with the bases loaded, in the eighth inning, Nimmo smashed a two-run double, allowing him to tie Delgado’s single-game Mets record.Nimmo, who entered batting .192, finished 4-for-6 to raise that mark to .218.
The nine RBIs increased his total to 21 for the season, second on the team to Pete Alonso’s 27.Griffin Canning dodged trouble over five shutout innings in which he allowed four hits and three walks and struck out five.The right-hander saw his ERA drop to 2.61 before departing at 90 pitches.Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double and Jeff McNeil’s ensuing sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 2-0 lead against Trevor Williams in the second inning.
Mark Vientos and Nimmo each singled in the inning before Alvarez hit a sinking line drive to left field that a diving Alex Call couldn’t grab.It was the third RBI in the series for Alvarez, whose two-run homer on Saturday accounted for the Mets’ only scoring in a victory.Canning created early traffic but managed to escape trouble.
In the second, he allowed...