QUEENS, NY — New York Mets veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo’s red-hot bat continued to feast in the first inning of Saturday’s Subway Series matchup against the crosstown rival Yankees at Citi Field, when he launched a first-inning grand slam off Carlos Rodon to give the hosts an immediate four-run lead on their way to a 12-6 win — their second straight over the Bronx Bombers.
“I feel like both of these teams right now are like heavyweights at the ned of a 15-round match, just trying to throw some haymakers,” Nimmo said. “Both teams are pretty beat up right now, so I do feel like it’s a big deal when you’re able to get that lead there at the beginning.”
Nimmo’s 18th home run of the year was also his third grand slam of the campaign, making him just the fourth player in Mets history to hit three grand slams in a single season.
The other three on the franchise’s exclusive list were John Milner in 1976, Robin Ventura in 1999, and Carlos Beltran in 2006.
Nimmo’s round-tripper punctuated a big opening frame against Rodon, who entered Saturday with a 9-5 mark and a 2.94 ERA. But Starling Marte doubled before Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso walked.
“I kinda thought, ‘Well, let’s see what they do with Pete here,'” Nimmo said. “Probably will be trying to come to me. So I was just preparing for that.”
On a 1-2 count, Nimmo pulled a hanging slider 387 feet over a pursuing Aaron Judge and the right-center-field fence.
A SUBWAY SERIES SLAM FOR BRANDON NIMMO 🚀 pic.twitter.com/nRqyTQTddF
— MLB (@MLB) July 5, 2025
Two of his blasts have come just four days apart. He notched his second grand slam of the season during the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, taking the promising young right-hander Jacob Misiorowski deep in the second inning.
His first of the season came on April 28 against the Washington Nationals.
The 32-year-old had just one career grand slam in his first nine MLB seasons with New York.
“I don’t know, just going up there trying to find a barrel,” Nimmo said. “To have two grand slams in a week is pretty crazy. You just go along and try to take every at-bat one pitch at a time and try to help the team out. It’s really cool when cool things happen like that.
“I’ve been playing a long time and haven’t hit two grand slams in a week. It’s a really fun feeling, especially in this atmosphere. It feels like a playoff atmosphere.”
