The New York Mets have looked anything but a contender lately. But veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo isn’t giving up on the division race just yet.
New York’s latest gut punch came Sunday, when a five-run lead against Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester evaporated into an walk-off loss. It capped a disastrous stretch in which Milwaukee and Cleveland swept the Mets in back-to-back series. These losses extend their losing streak to seven games and drop 11 of their last 12 contests.
That free fall has pushed them 5.5 games behind the first-place Phillies. Philadelphia is red-hot after adding at the trade deadline and winning seven of their last 10. The Mets still hold the final NL Wild Card spot. That cushion has shrunk to just 1.5 games over the surging Reds.
Refuses to Wave the White Flag
That combination of bad baseball and brutal standings math would be enough for most players to temper expectations. Not Nimmo.
“We can go on a run, we’ve still got time here,” the Mets’ longest-tenured position player said to SNY. “It just takes putting it all together and playing some better baseball over the next few weeks of the season, so no, I don’t think the division is slipping away from us. We’ve still got a shot. This team specifically has been known for going on runs, so we can easily rattle off a winning streak with the people we’ve got here.”
It’s not just blind optimism. The Mets will face the Phillies seven more times before the season ends. This includes a crucial three-game set later this month at Citi Field. Those games could represent the club’s last, best shot at swinging the NL East back in their favor.
On paper, the Mets still make a case to push for the division, even if the standings don’t show it. The offense has posted a .239/.318/.406 slash line with 147 home runs and 498 RBI through 118 games. Pete Alonso’s 26 home runs and .861 OPS remain the middle-of-the-order anchor, while Juan Soto’s .383 on-base percentage ranks among the best in the league. Nimmo has chipped in 19 homers, 63 RBI, and a 116 OPS+, even in a year when his batting average sits at .249.
The supporting cast has been a mixed bag. Francisco Lindor (21 HR, 64 RBI) has provided pop but is hitting just .243. Mark Vientos’ .641 OPS and Tyrone Taylor’s .200 average have left holes in the lineup. Still, players like Jeff McNeil (.784 OPS) and Brett Baty (12 HR, 36 RBI) have chipped in enough to suggest the offense can produce in stretches.
Pitching has been the steadier side. The rotation owns a 3.72 ERA, led by David Peterson (2.98 ERA, 133 IP) and Kodai Senga (2.30 ERA in 94 IP). Even Clay Holmes, acquired to start, has given them 122.1 innings of 3.46 ERA ball. In the bullpen, Edwin Díaz has rebounded to a 1.60 ERA with 23 saves and 13.4 strikeouts per nine, while Reed Garrett (2.59 ERA) has been a quiet stabilizer.
The cracks are apparent, though. The heavy bullpen workload has exposed the strain on pitchers like Ryne Stanek (5.31 ERA) and Huascar Brazobán (3.83 ERA). Injuries and inconsistency have forced manager Carlos Mendoza to mix and match far more than he’d like.
Mendoza Knows It’s Time to Deliver
“We just gotta go out and do it,” Mendoza said. “We have the talent, we have the players, but we have to start playing better baseball and just go out and get the job done. I know it’s frustrating — we’re all frustrated in here—but we just have to keep going because nobody said it was going to be easy.”
The easy part, of course, is believing in August that a turnaround is possible. The hard part is proving it on the field when every mistake is magnified and every loss feels heavier.
The Phillies’ form since the deadline has made the division climb even steeper. But the Mets’ remaining head-to-head matchups give them a mathematical lifeline. If Nimmo’s confidence is contagious and the Mets can finally break the cycle of late-inning collapses and missed opportunities, the next three weeks could look very different from the last three.
The Mets have no margin for error. Nimmo’s faith might keep the division race alive, even if it’s on life support.
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