Nimmo day to day with oblique soreness

NEW YORK -- Brandon Nimmo's disjointed season continued Tuesday, when he left the Mets' 9-0 victory over the Phillies at Citi Field due to left oblique soreness.

After reaching on an error in the second inning, Nimmo attempted to steal second base, but felt "a weird tweak feeling" on his left side and retreated to first. He convinced trainers to let him stay in the game and return to center field the following inning, but when he came off the field, Nimmo still felt discomfort. Head trainer Brian Chicklo convinced him to err on the side of caution.

"I didn't really want to come out," Nimmo said, "but we decided it would be better to be a little bit cautious."

Officially, Nimmo is day to day. He does not consider the injury serious, and hopes to return to the lineup as soon as Wednesday. Still, the episode is frustrating for Nimmo, who missed a pair of games last week due to a stiff neck. Between those two minor maladies and a strikeout-laden slump to open the season, Nimmo has struggled to find consistency as the Mets' leadoff hitter.

"It's been really frustrating," Nimmo said. "I've been pretty excited about what we've been working on, and I've been having some pretty good batting practices. Then the neck thing happened. I felt like I was kind of getting back into it again on Monday, then this pops up again. Yeah, it's pretty frustrating."

Up and in
The later stages of Tuesday's blowout became electrically charged in the ninth inning, when Mets reliever Jacob Rhame threw a pitch over the head of Rhys Hoskins. The Phillies first baseman stepped toward the mound, prompting Mets players to filter out of their dugout and both bullpens to empty. But umpires restored order before the incident could escalate.

Later in the plate appearance, Rhame threw ball four up-and-in to Hoskins, who spiked his bat on the ground as he glared at Rhame as he stalked toward first base.

Afterward, Hoskins and Bryce Harper insinuated that the pitches might have been intentional, after Phillies pitchers hit both Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso in Monday's game.

"I understand protecting your guys, and two of their really good guys got hit yesterday," Harper said. "You never want to see your star players get hit. If you're going to throw at Rhys right there -- I don't know if he did or not. I know he said, 'My bad,' stuff like that. Hopefully, he didn't. But if you're going to, just hit him in the butt."

Mets players, including Rhame, denied any intent, though they also said they would not be surprised to see retaliation spill into Wednesday's series finale.

"When you accidentally sail one, it's probably pretty scary," Rhame said. "I'd get [angry], too."

Fly me to the moon
In the seventh inning Monday, Phillies reliever Jose Alvarez intentionally walked Wilson Ramos to face Todd Frazier with the bases loaded. Frazier, in his first game back from a season-opening stint on the injured list, grounded into a fielder's choice.

Tuesday, Frazier faced a nearly identical situation, when reliever Drew Anderson intentionally walked McNeil to face him with the bases loaded. This time, Frazier didn't miss, clubbing his fifth career grand slam over the fence in left. The blast turned a four-run lead into an eight-run advantage.

"It's hard to do, don't get me wrong, but we're all professionals," Frazier said. "I got into a good count and my timing was just right. It makes it that much better."