Nimmo Powers Mets to 6-4 Victory Over Marlins

It was Friday night baseball in Miami as the Mets (62-37) took on the Marlins (47-53). The Mets had a Marte Partay to start the night, as Starling Marte came up huge for the offense in the early innings. Brandon Nimmo put the finishing touches on the night, blasting a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth leading the Mets to a 6-4 victory.

The game got off to a hot start, with the Marlins scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and the Mets responding in kind in the top of the second. The Mets’ response was all the more impressive given they were facing Marlins’ ace and potential Cy Young candidate Sandy Alcantara.

After getting the first two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Mets’ starter Chris Bassitt gave up a walk to Lewin Diaz, followed by a couple of soft singles to load the bases. Mets’ killer Miguel Rojas then hit a bases-clearing double to give the Marlins the 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Mark Canha doubled to right with one out. He moved to third on a Luis Guillorme groundout to second. A crucial walk by  Tomas Nido brought Nimmo to the plate as the tying run. Nimmo crushed a ball off the center field wall, which scored Canha. Nido did not run hard from the jump and had to stop at third. Luckily, Marte picked up the slack, hitting a triple to score Nido and Nimmo and tying the game 3-3. The triple was Marte’s second hit of the night.

Unfortunately, Bassitt struggled again in the second inning. He was hurt by another walk, this time a leadoff walk to Luke Williams. A single up the middle by Jacob Stallings put runners at the corners with no outs. Bassitt got the next hitter to ground into a double play, but the runner from third scored, giving the Marlins a 4-3 lead.

That lead was erased in the top of the fourth inning when Marte homered with two outs, tying the game at 4-4. The homer was Marte’s third hit of the night, leaving him only a double away from hitting for the cycle.

After a rough start to the game, Bassitt ultimately gave the Mets a solid start. He ended up going six innings, with two strikeouts, four walks, and six hits against him.

The Mets’ made some noise on offense from the fifth to the seventh innings but ultimately did not score.  Daniel Vogelbach doubled for his second time of the night in the top of the fifth inning but was stranded at third. Two walks in the top of the seventh helped lead to another Mets threat, but Marlins’ reliever Anthony Bass was able to get out of the inning unscathed.

After Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh, Nimmo got the big hit of the night. He blasted a two-run homer giving the Mets a 6-4 lead.

Trevor Williams got a surprise role in this game, coming in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth. He retired the side in order, although Rojas drove a ball to left that fell into Canha’s glove on the warning track.

After the Mets went down quietly in the top of the ninth, Edwin Díaz came on for the bottom of the ninth, trying for his 23rd save of the year. He was as excellent as always, striking out the side in order and missing an immaculate inning by one pitch.

Player of the Game: Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo has been struggling so far out of the All-Star break, but he put on a show against the Marlins, going two for five and driving in three runs. Both of his hits were crushed, and his two-run homer came at the perfect time.

Honorable mention to Marte, who started off the game on a tear and ended the night a double short of the cycle.

On Deck

The Mets and Marlins will play game two of their series Saturday at 6:10 p.m. Carlos Carrasco is set to start for the Mets, while the Marlins’ starter is TBD.