Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off of a shocking and disappointing three-game sweep at the hands of the Tigers, the Mets took the field on Friday night looking to right the ship against the Rockies who entered the game on a four-game win streak. Kodai Senga got the start for New York and Antonio Senzatela, making his first appearance since last August, got the start for Colorado.

There wasn’t much offense from either team in the game and a solo home run from Brandon Nimmo was all the difference as the Mets won the game 1-0.

Senga was in constant trouble in his last start against the Nationals and he put himself in trouble again to start this game, issuing back-to-back walks with two outs to put Kris Bryant and C.J. Cron on base. That brought up Elías Díaz, Colorado’s catcher who entered the game batting .337 with an .882 OPS, but he lined out to second base to end the inning.

After getting through the second inning cleanly, Senga again worked himself into trouble in the third inning by issuing back-to-back walks with two outs. Facing the dangerous bat of Cron, Senga got him to fly out to center field to get through the third inning scoreless.

Randal Grichuk recorded the first hit for the Rockies with two outs in the fourth inning as he hit a weak single into the outfield. He was swiftly erased on a ground ball out just two pitches later, preserving Senga’s scoreless start through four innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Nimmo broke up Senzatela’s perfect start by launching the first pitch he saw over the right field fence to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. That was Nimmo’s third home run of the season and a hit he needed badly after slumping recently. Lindor recorded the Mets’ second hit of the inning in his at-bat but was thrown out at second after trying to stretch a single into a double.

Nimmo made another great play, this time defensively, in the top of the fifth inning. After Ezequiel Tovar fought off a few pitches in a two-strike count, he sent a ball into shallow center field that looked light it might fall, but Nimmo made a diving catch to rob Tovar of a hit. Senga retired the next two batters including a strikeout of Jurickson Profar for his second 1-2-3 inning of the night.

The Mets threatened to score in the bottom of the fifth after Brett Baty walked and advanced to third on a two-out single off the bat of Daniel Vogelbach. That brought up Tomás Nido who has struggled from the plate since the season began. He was unable to extend the Mets’ lead as he hit a slow ground ball to third base for an out to strand the two runners on base.

With two outs and nobody on in the top of the sixth, Elías Díaz hit a weak ball that landed right on the first base line to give the Rockies their second hit of the night. Running the count full to Ryan McMahon in the next at-bat, Senga got him to hit a weak ground ball to get out of the inning, ending his night after six scoreless innings. Although he walked four batters, he gave up just two hits and struck out four in a performance the Mets desperately needed.

Leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, Nimmo doubled into the left-center field gap, giving him his second extra-base hit of the night. He was stranded on second base, though, as Marte, Lindor, and Alonso all failed to get the ball out of the infield.

Drew Smith relieved Senga in the seventh, trying to preserve the Mets’ one-run lead and the shutout. He allowed a single to Harold Castro but otherwise struck out two and got through the inning cleanly.

For the second time in the game, Brett Baty found himself in scoring position after he hit an opposite-field, one-out double off of the lefty Brent Suter in the bottom of the seventh. Once again, though, he failed to score. Tommy Pham struck out and Vogelbach, who entered the game 0-for-5 against lefties on the year, remained in the game and also struck out to end the inning.

The Rockies threatened the Mets’ one-run lead in the top of the eighth inning, as David Robertson issued two walks to put the tying run in scoring position. Ryan McMahon then hit a scorching ground ball that looked as though it would get through the infield and potentially tie the game, but it hit the pinch-runner Brenton Doyle to get the Mets out of the inning.

Adam Ottavino entered the game in the ninth inning looking for his fourth save of the year. On his first pitch of the night, Grichuk sent the ball the other way for a single, putting the tying run on first base with no outs. Grichuk then stole second base without a throw and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Mike Moustakas came in the game to pinch-hit for Tovar and worked the count full, but struck out to give Ottavino the result he desperately needed. Charlie Blackmon then hit a rope to right field but it was an easy play for Marte to give the Mets the victory and end their three-game skid.

Player of the Game

Although Senga’s six scoreless innings cannot be discounted, the Mets could not have won this game without Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo entered this game in a slump and was heavily criticized for his decision to unsuccessfully steal in a two-run game in the ninth inning on Thursday. He rebounded exceptionally well, though, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and a walk as well as making a great diving play in the outfield.

On Deck

Game two of the series against Colorado continues Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SNY. Tylor Megill (3-1, 4.11 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets going against Austin Gomber (2-4, 7.57 ERA) who has rebounded nicely in his last two starts after a brutal start to the season.