by Brandon Nimmo may have started to emerge from his second-half slump.
The outfielder, who sat out Thursday’s 7-6 loss to the A’s due to illness, shone for the first time since July with a 2-for-5 night that culminated in a three-run home run in the Mets’ dominant 7-3 win Friday to open the Marlins’ series at Citi Field.
However, he did not admit that he is not out of the woods yet.
“No,” Nimmo said after the win when asked if his performance relieved him. “No, I mean, nobody cares about that tomorrow. So we have to go out and try to win tomorrow. But it’s a good step in the right direction and we’ll keep working on it.”
Nimmo, who said he still doesn’t feel 100 percent, has struggled since the league’s All-Star break in July and no longer looks like the hitter who could help the Mets make the playoffs as he once did.
During the first half of the season, Nimmo achieved an OPS of .815 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs.
Before Friday, the Met player with nine years of experience had managed 12 of 86 at-bats with 30 strikeouts and an OPS of .444 since the break.
“Yes, I’ve been very open about it. You know, I’m not feeling very well,” Nimmo said of his problems and discomfort at the plate. “The worse you do, the more uncomfortable you feel, of course. But today was a step in the right direction. We work every day to get better and be better in the game. We’ll continue to do that.”
Friday night marked his first home run in 27 games – since July 10.
In the second half of the fourth inning, with one out and two runners on base, Nimmo contributed to a strong offense that had already scored three runs in the period, on a two-run homer by Jeff McNeil and a triple by Francisco Lindor.
He slammed the first pitch – an 81.2 mph slider – into the right upper deck (390 feet), throwing home Lindor and Mark Vientos and increasing the Mets’ lead to 7-2.
He also began the evening by reaching second base on a two-base error after Marlins pitcher Roddery Munoz made a long throw to first base.
On Friday, manager Carlos Mendoza noticed an improvement in Nimmo’s swing, which he said seemed to have a better sense of rhythm and timing.
“It puts him in a position where he can make really good swing decisions because this guy knows the strike zone better than anyone and can do damage,” Mendoza said. “He had rhythm and was on time and the ball got through the hitting zone today. It was different. So that was good to see.”
