The New York Mets rolled into Washington riding a seven-game winning wave, but the Nationals had other plans Friday night. In a tight back-and-forth battle, the Nats pulled out a 5-4 victory, walking it off in the ninth and leaving the Mets wondering how it slipped away.
Nimmo’s Mental Slip Proves Costly
Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, even the steadiest players can have a brain cramp — and that’s exactly what happened to Brandon Nimmo.
With the game knotted at 0-0, and two outs already in the books, Nationals rookie Dylan Crews slapped a sharp single to left. Nimmo scooped it up, but instead of taking the simple route — tossing to the cutoff man — he aimed for third base, as if following some ghost runner that didn’t exist.
It was a little like trying to throw a dart with your eyes closed — well-intentioned, but wildly misjudged. Moments earlier, the Mets had turned a double play, and there was no runner on first.
Nimmo, thinking there was, threw to third anyway. Crews, alert as a fox, pounced on the mistake, hustling into second without a blink.
Moments later, Jose Tena dropped a bloop single into no-man’s land, and Crews crossed the plate to put Washington on the board. In a one-run game, that misstep became the hinge on which the whole night swung.
Nimmo Owns Up
After the game, Nimmo didn’t shy away from the miscue. Speaking to SNY, he called it “a stupid mental mistake” — blunt and honest, the kind of accountability you hope for from a veteran.
“I saw the double play happen the play before and for some reason in my head I thought someone was on first base when I got the ball beforehand and my intention was to go to third,” Nimmo explained.
“As soon as I let the ball go I realized that no one was turning to go from second to third and I knew I had made a mistake right away. Hats off to Dylan taking advantage of my mistake — it cost us a run there.”
In a game decided by details and instincts, that one misfire was the crack that let the win slip away.