On Sunday in Cincinnati, it was Francisco Lindor. On Monday in Atlanta, it was Brandon Nimmo.
The Mets are finally seeing some of their big bats come around at the start of 2024, which has supplemented their most successful stretch of the early goings of the new season.
After starting the season 1-for-31, which included an 0-for-24 slump, Lindor went 2-for-5 with a double and home run in New York’s 3-1 victory on Sunday over the Reds to secure its first series victory of the year.
“It feels good, it feels really good, to be able to contribute to the team,” Lindor said. “Nothing else matters but winning. Whenever you can do something to help the team win, it just feels really good.”
Mets tests get much stiffer this week, though. A series win in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark is one thing. Going into Atlanta to face a Braves team that is one of the best in baseball and has owned New York in recent years is something entirely different.
They got off to a surprisingly good start on Monday night, though.
After Julio Teheran was tagged for four runs in his first three innings as a Met, Nimmo — who entered Monday batting a paltry .103 (3-for-29) — helped pick up the slack for his 2024 awakening.
Down 4-1 in the fifth with two men on, Nimmo launched his first home run of the season off Charlie Morton over the Chop House at Truist Park in right field to tie the game.
Former Met Travis d’Arnaud put the Braves ahead in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double, but Nimmo punched right back in the seventh when he went dead center off AJ Minter — a solo shot to tie it back up at five apiece.
“I feel like I’ve been swinging the bat well and hitting some balls hard but they haven’t quite fallen in,” Nimmo said. “So I’m just trying to build on at-bats. That doesn’t mean I figured it out or the next game will be great. Every game is a grind, but it’s always nice to come through when it happens.”
DJ Stewart’s first home run of the season put the Mets up two before Nimmo singled home an extra insurance run, which ultimately was just enough for New York’s 8-7 win.
In total, Nimmo went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI — more production in eight innings in every single one of those categories than he had across his first eight games of the season.
