Brandon Nimmo is starting to hit like himself again.
The veteran left fielder launched a pair of solo home runs, walked and scored three runs in the Mets’ 5-0 win over the Nationals on Wednesday night.
Up to 12 home runs on the season, it was his second two-homer game — with the other also coming against the Nationals, back on April 28 in Washington.
Nevertheless, luck has not been on his side for much of this season. Nimmo entered Wednesday with a .231 batting average — a far cry from his .259 career average.
What that number hides is how well he has still been able to see the ball. He has been hitting the ball hard with solid contact the entire season.
Unfortunately for him, those balls have not always found green grass.
Nimmo discussed how he kept his head up despite his unlucky start to the season.
“Sometimes you’re just going to go through some bad luck, and you should stay the course,” Nimmo said.
Even Wednesday, Nimmo had an unlucky moment.
His hardest hit ball of the night at 106 mph — a liner to right field — was the only time he made an out.
One thing that Nimmo looked at during his slow start to keep him motivated was his expected statistics.
“A lot of the stuff that we go by now is expected numbers,” Nimmo said. “And if all of that stuff is pointing to you should be having some success, we kind of lean on that.”
His expected batting average entering Wednesday was .261, 30 points above his actual average entering the game. His chase rate is at just 19.6 percent — well below the MLB average of 28.4 percent — which is something he has consistently achieved throughout his career.
In the past few weeks, those expected numbers are finally coming to fruition.
Since May 26, Nimmo has hits in 14 of 16 games and is batting .305, going 18-for-59 at the plate.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza isn’t surprised things are starting to pay off for Nimmo.
“He continues to give us good at-bats, driving the ball to all fields,” Mendoza said. “That’s the hitter we know he’s capable of being.”
