The New York Mets had gone 0-for-21 in throwing out base stealers in 2018.
That was until Friday night, where rookie catcher Tomas Nido gunned down two Atlanta Braves trying to steal to snap the skid.
“Timing felt good, knew I had a good shot and just needed to make an accurate throw,” Nido said. “It’s just a matter of getting it going, getting that first one out is like getting the first hit of the year. Obviously it helps. It’s fun to throw guys out, to get the first one out and get it going is good.”
The first runner attempting to steal was Ryan Flaherty in the second, and an inning later, the casualty was Ozzie Albies who they nailed on a pitch out.
“[Nido] didn’t try to be too quick, he just made good strong, accurate throws, so that was real nice,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “He’s a confident kid and he knows he’s a good catcher and good baseball player, so the more time goes on, the more comfortable he gets, the more he is going to settle in and he seems to be doing that a little bit.”
Nido caught Mets ace Noah Syndergaard, who had an unremarkable but not terrible outing, yielding three runs over six innings pitched.
The 23-year-old and Syndergaard have paired up well as battery mates. This goes all the way back to Spring Training where they first developed the chemistry.
“I like the combination a little bit,” Callaway said prior to Friday night’s game. “Nido can throw the ball well and obviously Syndergaard as big he is, he’s a little longer to home. I thought they had pretty good success last outing.”
With Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki, the Mets took an offense-first approach behind the dish, but with Nido and Jose Lobaton, there has been more emphasis put on defense.
Nido is already a wizard at framing pitches. If he can continue to throw guys out attempting to steal, New York will be in good shape at the catcher position on defense.
