Brandon Nimmo joins rare company as red-hot Mets throttle Nationals

Nimmo broke out of a season-long slump with his monster outing. The 10-year veteran slashed .192/.239/.337 with four home runs and 12 runs batted in (RBI) entering Monday but was 4-of-6 with two home runs and a double against Washington, raising his slash line to .218/.261/.418.

Per Baseball Reference, through the Mets' first 28 games, Nimmo had 97 runners on base in 113 plate appearances, tied with Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisolm for the most in the majors. Only 8.3 percent of base-runners scored due to a Nimmo at-bat, 5.5 percentage points below league-average per 600 plate appearances. 

Nimmo hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth for his first runs of the game, drilling a 91 mph four-seam fastball 410 feet to right-centerfield.

He followed that an inning later with a one-out grand slam against Nats reliever Cole Henry. Per Stathead, it was just Nimmo's second career grand slam and first since June 8, 2023.

Nimmo's bases-loaded double in the top of the eighth drove in two runs and capped his remarkable game.

The Mets (20-9) have the league's best record despite their lackluster overall start at the plate. Through Sunday's games, the Mets ranked 20th in team batting average (.236) and tied for 17th in on-base rate (.311).

If Nimmo's big game is the start of him becoming a more reliable threat with his bat, New York could remain atop its perch all season.