Brandon Nimmo is already reaping the dividends of his new role, and the Mets will gladly benefit.
The outfielder came to the plate in the ninth inning Saturday night against Diamondbacks left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin having gone 0-for-12 against southpaws this season. But Nimmo found the perfect time to break that drought. He slapped a double to right field and eventually came around to score the winning run on Wilmer Flores’ walk-off sacrifice fly as the Mets won, 5-4, at Citi Field.
“Is that the first one? Well, I’m glad we got that out of the way,” Nimmo said with a grin. “That’s a big one. For me, it’s just seeing them. I get better when I’m able to make adjustments. It’s really hard for me to make adjustments when I’m not getting consistent at-bats against it.”
Nimmo is assured of getting regular at-bats against both lefties and righties for the foreseeable future as an everyday outfielder alongside Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce. Juan Lagares (toe) is likely out for the year, and Yoenis Cespedes (hip flexor) is on the disabled list until further notice, meaning Nimmo will be a regular in Mickey Callaway’s lineup.
The ninth inning at-bat was the fourth one Nimmo took Saturday against a lefty. The first three came against starter Patrick Corbin, in which he struck out twice and walked once. Against Chafin in the ninth — a night after facing him and grounding out — Nimmo had a plan of attack even after falling behind 0-2.
Brandon NimmoPaul J. Bereswill“I have been able to go back and make adjustments based on the video, based on the swings, based on the results,” Nimmo said. “For me, that’s really big to be able to get those at-bats. I was so glad to be able to come through in that at-bat.”
Nimmo saw everyday playing time at the end of last season, but entered Saturday batting .169 against lefties as a Met. He plans on using his new role to his advantage to feel more confident no matter who he is facing.
In 14 starts this year, Nimmo is batting .280 with 12 runs and 11 walks.
“My confidence was already building because I felt more comfortable,” Nimmo said. “That’s great that was the first hit, but that was a culmination of getting more and more comfortable throughout the at-bats.”
