ST. LOUIS — Brandon Nimmo’s first month was as gloomy as the weather in New York, but the flowers of May have bloomed.
The Mets needed some spark offensively after blowing a three-point lead Monday night, and Nimmo was there to deliver the haymaker that disappeared into a sea of red.
When the Mets defeated the Cardinals 4-3 at Busch Stadium, Nimmo’s seventh-inning home run made the difference between victory and defeat.
The Mets ended their losing streak with three games and played nine consecutive games decided by two points or less.
Nimmo, who entered the game with a .919 OPS over the past 10 games after a slump for much of April, was given the heavy lifting on a night when Pete Alonso was on the bench amid a slump with just one hit in 28 games. After going into this game, it lasted a long time. as a defensive substitute.
The Mets (17-18) had Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino and Edwin Diaz pitch three scoreless innings in relief after two consecutive lapses from the bullpen.
Diaz pitched a perfect ninth inning, bouncing back from his first save of the season when he allowed a game-tying home run the previous day against Tampa Bay.
Sean Manaea pitched six innings, his longest start since his Mets debut, and allowed three earned runs on 89 pitches with six hits, one walk and one strikeout.
This is the second time this season that a left-handed pitcher has allowed two or more earned runs as a starter.
In the first inning, DJ Stewart’s RBI double gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Francisco Lindor tied the game with a two-out walk against Kyle Gibson, and Stewart (Alonso started on the bench and started at first base) recorded his 16th RBI of the season.
Manaea got some defensive help in the second inning with Jeff McNeil’s diving catch in the left field seats.
The play seemed to get even better with a subsequent double by Brendan Donovan, but Macyn Wynn was retired to end the inning.
The Mets got two outs in the fifth inning and extended their lead to 3-0.
After Lars Nootvaal misplayed Nimmo’s single, leaving runners on second and third base with no outs, Starling Marte’s ground out gave them the lead in the inning.
Lindor followed with a sacrifice fly.
The rally started with Tomas Nido’s second leadoff single of the game.
Manaea retired nine consecutive batters, and in the fifth inning, Wynn hit a double.
However, Manaea rebounded and retired Noot Baal, preserving the Mets’ three-point lead.
The Cardinals pounced on Manaea in the sixth inning. Wilson Contreras continued the rally with an RBI double and Paul Goldschmidt walked.
Manaea had two outs in a row, then Ivan Herrera hit a two-run double to tie the score at 3-3.
Nimmo hit a home run in the seventh inning, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.
Nimmo smashed a high breaking ball from Andrew Kittredge, who had just one earned run in his previous 14 appearances.
