Brandon Nimmo Stepping Up On & Off Field in Playoff Chase

The September Mets are continuing winning ways in a time that they need it the most. The Sunday night 2-1 victory kept their wild-card lead over the Atlanta Braves to two games and avoided a Phillies National League East Champion celebration on their home turf. (They won a day later and celebrated at home Monday.) With Francisco Lindor missing a seventh consecutive game on Sunday they have been finding different avenues to replace his production, and Brandon Nimmo stepped up.

Over the last two weeks, Nimmo’s production on the field and leadership in the clubhouse have noticeably increased. Whether it has been clutch moments in big spots, speaking to the media after the game, or pumping up the fans he has emerged as one of the top leaders of this Mets team.

“I’m so proud of these guys. They are fighting every pitch,” Nimmo said. “This is playoff atmosphere, playoff baseball. You see how much more every pitch means in these games. They carry so much weight and these guys keep rising to the challenge, it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

In the last seven games, Brandon Nimmo has knocked in nine base runners, including two go-ahead RBIs in the sixth inning or later in back-to-back games. On Sunday night with the game tied at one, Nimmo belted a homer to right field through a whipping wind off Zack Wheeler, just reaching over then right-field wall and putting the Mets up 2-1.

He’s had a sluggish second half of the season but continues to battle and provide an offensive spark heading into the most important series of the season in Atlanta.

Looking ahead to the start of the Atlanta Braves series on Tuesday, Nimmo is going to continue to be an impact player. Historically, Nimmo loves hitting against the Braves and the 2024 season proves to be the same, slashing .333/.429/.733/1.162 in nine games. This includes a 4-for-4, two-home run night and a walk-off home run this season against Atlanta.

“Our goal is to get back here (Citi Field) and be playing playoff baseball in October,” he said. “There’s a lot of hoops to get through in order to do that, but there is no doubt that it is our goal. We have to take care of business and be present in the situation.”

It’s a goal that four months ago did not feel possible, but the Mets have been one of the best teams in baseball since June with multiple series victories over Major League Baseball’s best teams. They continue to control their own destiny heading down to Atlanta and will look to put the Braves at bay.

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