Red-hot Nimmo leads Mets into playoff position with sweep of Nats

NEW YORK -- Brandon Nimmo continued his red-hot hitting on Thursday afternoon and it helped the Mets blank the Nationals, 7-0, at Citi Field to sweep the three-game series. With the win, the Mets moved percentage points ahead of the Padres for the third National League Wild Card spot.

It seems hard to believe that New York has moved up in the Wild Card standings. Remember, it was on May 29 when the team was at its lowest point with a 22-33 record. Since that date, the Mets are 25-12.

“I don’t think we are looking at standings. I think we are just making sure we are taking care of business day in and day out,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Obviously, what we went through during the month of May and how far back we got, and to be able to get to this position is a good feeling.

“But also understanding that we have a long way to go. We have to continue to take care of business. We did that this series and that’s going to be the mindset. We are going to take it one day at a time, one series at a time.”

It looked like New York was in for a long day against Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who allowed one hit in the first four innings.

“Gore is an amazing pitcher. We have a lot of respect for him around here,” Nimmo said. “We know he can go a long way without putting runs on him. We have to be relentless. The goal for us is to keep trying to push on the dam until it finally breaks.”

The dam broke in the fifth inning, when the Mets rallied and scored five runs -- all with two outs.

After a leadoff double by Luis Torrens, Gore managed to get two quick outs. But after Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor reached on walks to load the bases, Nimmo came to the plate and cleared the bases with a double to left-center field. Nimmo has 30 RBIs in his last 23 games. With 62 RBIs for the season, Nimmo is now six RBIs shy of his career high of 68, which was set last year.

“We have a really good player here that is performing at a high level,” Mendoza said. “He is always making adjustments, whether it's with the leg kick, being more athletic, looking to do damage, not afraid to swing and miss and continuing to control the strike zone. That’s what good players do. They are not satisfied by the same approach and this is a perfect example. He is always finding ways to get better. We're seeing it right on the field day after day.”

Nimmo has been in elite company since June 1. Entering Thursday’s action, he ranked fourth in the National League in OPS (.995) behind only Bryce Harper (1.119), Shohei Ohtani (1.099) and Bryan Reynolds (.996). Nimmo was also fourth in the NL in slugging (.603) behind the same three players -- Harper (.684), Ohtani (.682) and Reynolds (.615).

Nimmo remembered his aha moment when he figured out how to better drive the ball and hit with consistency. It started in August of last year. It all comes down to improving his swing and getting more out of himself.

“It was one of those breakthroughs. It’s been a long process, and we finally were able to clean up the swing path and add that with my decision making and become a much better hitter,” Nimmo said. “I don’t have to catch the ball just right. That’s a huge thing in baseball is to have a lot of room for error in your swing. For me, it has been a long process that we have finally tightened up and it has leaked into this year. I’m really glad I’ve been able to come through for the team in those big moments when we need them. But that comes from consistency and being able to have a lot of room for error.”

Nimmo is on pace to drive in 100 runs and he would like to reach that goal for the first time in his career.

“It would be a dream come true, because you see all the amazing hitters that have come through the big leagues drive in 100 runs, and those are people you believe are in elite company,” Nimmo said. “It would mean a lot to me.”

J.D. Martinez followed Nimmo with an RBI single before Martinez came home on a single by Pete Alonso.

David Peterson (4-0) benefited from that fifth-inning eruption, tossing six scoreless innings while striking out five and allowing just four hits. The Mets used five pitchers -- Peterson, Phil Maton, Danny Young, Dedniel Núñez and Adam Ottavino -- en route to collecting their first shutout of the season.

“They continued to make pitches when they got in trouble. It started with Petey,” Mendoza said.

Peterson couldn’t find the words to describe the hot streak Nimmo has been on.

“I don’t know where to start,” Peterson said. “It’s every day. It’s the level of consistency in his work and his approach. It speaks for the performance. When you stick to it like he does … he knows what he needs to do to be the best version of himself.”