More walk-off magic from Wilmer for Mets

NEW YORK -- As the bottom of the ninth inning began on Sunday at Citi Field, Mets manager Mickey Callaway had just one thought.
"Win it, and we get to get warm," Callaway said. "I knew the players were ready to get off the field."
Fortunately for Callaway and the Mets, the king of the walk-offs was due up third in the inning, and Wilmer Flores wasn't going to let this freezing game go to extra innings.
Flores' two-out homer off Matt Albers gave the Mets a 3-2 win over the Brewers and a 12-2 record heading into a series with the division-rival Nationals that starts on Monday night at Citi Field.

It also earned Flores a celebratory postgame dousing courtesy of Yoenis Céspedes -- "Really cold," Flores said -- but it also gave him and his teammates a chance to happily return to a warm clubhouse.
"It was good just to get out of that cold," Flores said.
And even though Flores had been hitless on the day and 4-for-24 for the season going into the ninth inning, he was as likely as anyone to win it. Sunday's walk-off home run was the third of his career (July 31, 2015, against the Nationals and July 22, 2017, against the A's). It was his seventh career walk-off RBI.
This one gave the Mets another good win, one that began with Noah Syndergaard striking out 11 and declaring he was now "close to dominance." Syndergaard struck out eight straight at one point, two shy of Tom Seaver's Major League record.
• Watch Syndergaard strike out 8 straight batters

It was also a big day for outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who in his first start back from the Minor Leagues hit a single, a triple and a home run. His home run tied the score in the sixth inning.
Nimmo circled the bases on his home run in 17.03 seconds, the Mets' fastest homer of the season so far. He was more than 10 full seconds faster than the team's slowest home run: Cespedes, at 27.07 seconds on April 4.

Someone then had to win it, and as Nimmo sat next to Michael Conforto in the dugout, his fellow outfielder had the perfect candidate.
"Flo's known for walk-offs," Conforto told Nimmo. "He's the king of the walk-offs."
• Jackie Robinson Day at Citi Field
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was shortstop Amed Rosario's nice play on a Jhoulys Chacín ground ball that preserved the Mets' 1-0 lead in the fifth inning after the Brewers had a runner at third base with two out. But when Rosario got another ground ball with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, he bounced the throw to first base, allowing two runs to score and temporarily giving the Brewers the lead.

HE SAID IT
"I want to be part of a World Series team. If that means coming off the bench, that's what I'll do. I want to see this team win a World Series. -- Nimmo, who has trouble getting at-bats while playing behind Cespedes, Conforto and Jay Bruce in the Mets outfield
UP NEXT
After sweeping the Nationals in Washington last week, the Mets prepare for their first visit of the season from their National League East rivals. Right-hander Jacob deGrom (2-0, 3.06 ERA) starts Monday's 7:10 p.m. ET game at Citi Field, with the Nationals sending Gio González to the hill. The Mets lost eight of 10 to the Nationals at Citi Field in 2017.