ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brandon Nimmo had been the quietest member of the Mets’ lineup this month, but Friday night he went from June gloom to boom.
The spark atop this batting order, the energetic outfielder reached base as part of three scoring rallies — which included Nimmo’s first home run in six weeks — to lead a 7-3 victory over the Angels. The Mets snapped a two-game skid and put the Angels back in the loss column a night after they ended a 14-game losing streak.
Nimmo, who entered the night 3-for-29 (.103) in June without an extra-base hit, homered in the fourth and delivered a two-run double in the sixth. He also walked during a second inning in which the Mets scored three runs to set the early tone.
Nimmo’s struggles coincided with a stretch that followed missed games because of a sprained right wrist in late May.
“Each day the hand has been feeling a little bit better, so it’s nice to be getting farther away from the injury,” Nimmo said.
Brandon Nimmo points to the sky after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning of the Mets’ 7-3 win over the Angels. AP“When you are not healthy and able to do everything at 100 percent or even 95, this is a hard game. … I felt I had a bigger job as well being the center fielder and that’s a big job. I need to be there, I need to help carry that load. I felt like at least I could field that position while I tried to get the hand back.”
The offensive explosion was welcomed after the Mets combined to score two runs in two losses to conclude their series in San Diego.
Mark Canha was the other offensive force for the Mets, reaching base three times and finishing with three RBIs. The Mets totaled 13 hits against five pitchers.
Three days after he was hit on the right hand by a Yu Darvish fastball while checking his swing, Pete Alonso returned to the lineup, hitting cleanup, at first base. Alonso went 1-for-5 with a single in the fifth inning (he also stole second base). Starling Marte, who departed that same game against the Padres with left quadriceps discomfort, remains day to day.
Pete Alonso steals a base in the fifth inning of the Mets’ win over the Angels. Getty Images“It’s a different looking lineup with Pete back in there,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s just a testament, I think sometimes we lose sight of the courage it takes to get back out there. I think everybody is getting a little healthier.”
In his return to the rotation following a month’s absence to rehab from biceps inflammation, Tylor Megill pitched 3¹/₃ innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk, departing after 64 pitches.
The outing was a homecoming for Megill, who grew up in Long Beach, about 30 minutes from Angel Stadium. Megill had about 30-40 friends and family at the ballpark.
“It feels good that my arm is back to normal and keep it that way,” Megill said, adding that his command was “spotty.”
Eduardo Escobar raps a single during the Mets’ win. Getty ImagesDavid Peterson, shifted to the bullpen for at least this turn through the rotation, entered and got Tyler Wade to hit into an inning-ending double play in the fourth. Overall, the left-hander allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 2²/₃ innings.
The Mets took early control by sending eight batters to the plate in the second inning to score three runs against lefty Jhonathan Diaz.
Thomas Nido raised his batting average to .423 with runners in scoring position by stroking a two-out RBI single off shortstop Andrew Velazquez’s glove for the Mets’ first run. Nimmo extended the rally with a walk before Canha delivered a two-run double that extended the Mets’ lead to 3-0.
Megill’s trouble came in the bottom of the inning, when Brandon Marsh hammered a full-count changeup for a 449-foot homer that sliced the Mets’ lead to 3-2. The homer was the fifth allowed by Megill in eight starts this season.
The Mets got one of those runs back in the fourth, when Nimmo smashed a homer. The blast was Nimmo’s fourth of the season and first since April 25.
Nimmo hammered a two-run double just inside the third-base line in the sixth that extended the Mets’ lead to 6-2 before Canha’s single brought in another run. J.D. Davis’ single and Luis Guillorme’s walk began the rally.
Marsh’s second homer of the game, a solo blast in the sixth, brought the Angels within 7-3. Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Adam Ottavino and Edwin Diaz pitched the next three innings scoreless to finish it.






