PHILADELPHIA — The Mets' lineup has been buoyed by Francisco Lindor's MVP-caliber season and the emergence of Mark Vientos, who led the team to a playoff berth, but the offense needs more to make an impact in October.
Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez have been two of the main culprits for the poor performance so far, but both showed signs of breaking out in Friday's 11-3 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Both pitchers gave up three-run homers in the fifth inning off Aaron Nola, who had not allowed a hit through the first four innings.
Alvarez smashed a ball to left that hit the foul pole to give the Mets a 3-0 lead, and Nimmo followed that up with a 3-2 curveball later in the inning.
What's been somewhat overlooked in the team's incredible resurgence is the continued struggles of both hitters. Alvarez had only two home runs in his past 52 games, and while he homered in his final two games for his eighth of the year, Nimmo hadn't homered since Aug. 18.
Their slump wasn't just limited to power, as Alvarez had a .501 OPS in 52 games while Nimmo had a .546 OPS in the 50 games ending Friday.
Before the game, manager Carlos Mendoza noted that Alvarez's bat has been better than last week, especially against fastballs.
On Friday, he threw an inside knuckle curve that was inches away from the plate.
“Stay in the ball, [could] “Be fair,” Alvarez said.
“He's making good swing decisions and he's in position to do some damage,” Mendoza said of his catcher. “Mechanically, he's getting into a position to hit.”
Nimmo, on the other hand, has handled pitchers attacking him differently, building on his success over the final two months of last season and his impressive performance in June of this year.
After his breakout start in June, he struggled for two months and went 20 straight games without a home run before hitting his 19th on Friday.
“Now it's my turn to make an adjustment,” Nimmo said of getting outplayed by pitchers recently. “Tonight was a good night. I don't know if it was the pinnacle. Hopefully it's not. Hopefully it will be evident when I get back on track.”
“It was good for him. It was good for all of us,” Mendoza said of Nimmo's performance.
