ARLINGTON, Texas — Brandon Nimmo played against the New York Mets for the first time Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, 10 months after the Mets traded him to the Texas Rangers for Marcus Semien.
New York won 6-3. Nimmo went 2-for-4 with a run scored, and he was charged with an error in right field that allowed a run to score in the fourth inning.
On Wednesday, Nimmo spoke about the night in an interview with Steve Gelbs of SNY, the Mets’ television home. Francisco Lindor led off for New York on Tuesday, and Juan Soto batted second.
Nimmo spent 10 seasons in the majors with the Mets and was the longest-tenured player on their roster when the trade went through. Before Tuesday’s game, he caught up with some of his former teammates and members of the Mets staff.
“It is weird,” Nimmo said. “I mean, first time ever playing the Mets, so it was a weird feeling when they announced Francisco to the plate in the first inning, and you’re just so used to being on the other side of it. And so, very, very interesting at first. And then once you get into the game, it’s kind of just like, all right, it’s back to baseball, just playing to try and win the game. But very, very interesting. And I got to talk to some of the guys beforehand, and it was great catching up with them and some of the staff.”
“And so it is weird. It’s the closing of a chapter in your life, but lots of great memories with them, and nothing will ever take that away,” Nimmo continued. “And now, yeah, now that we’ve got that behind us, it’s like, OK, it’s just back to baseball. We’re playing baseball, and it’s a game we all love, a game that we all work really hard at. And we’re just out there competing and trying to find a way to win. So, but it was very interesting, especially first at-bat when Francisco came up and Juan came up and you’re just like, oh, man, this is weird being on the other side of it.”
Brandon Nimmo Singles Twice And Is Charged With Error Against New York Mets
Batting fifth, Nimmo singled to center in the second inning for the first hit of the game. He singled to center again to lead off the fourth.
In the top of the fourth, the Mets had a runner on second base when a ball was hit into the gap between Nimmo and center fielder Ezequiel Durán. The ball ricocheted off the heel of Nimmo’s glove as Durán converged on the same play, and the run scored to give New York a 2-1 lead. The play was scored an E9.
That was the Rangers’ only official error of the night, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reported. The Rangers also had other defensive misplays in the loss, which Dallas Sports Journal covered in its game story.
Semien started at second base for New York and went 0-for-5 with a run scored.
Texas Rangers And Houston Astros Tied Atop AL West
The Mets drafted Nimmo 13th overall in 2011. Texas acquired him Nov. 24 in the one-for-one trade that sent Semien to New York, and Nimmo waived his no-trade clause to complete the deal. He is still playing on the eight-year, $162 million contract he signed with the Mets in December 2022.
Entering Tuesday, Nimmo was hitting .260/.325/.407 with 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 34 doubles in 149 games, and his 148 hits led the Rangers. Through 17 games in September, he was hitting .227/.292/.288 with a 30.6% strikeout rate. A stomach bug kept him out of Sunday’s game against Toronto, and he returned to the lineup Tuesday after Monday’s off day, as Dallas Sports Journal reported before the series.
Semien entered Tuesday hitting .219/.285/.341 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs in 134 games for the Mets.
The loss dropped Texas to 78-79. Later Tuesday night, the Houston Astros beat the Mariners 7-0 in Seattle to pull back into a tie with the Rangers for first place in the AL West. Each team has five games left, and Houston holds the tiebreaker after going 9-4 against Texas this season. The Rangers had held sole possession of first place for three days.
The Rangers and Mets continue the series Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Nolan McLean (11-10, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to start for New York. The series ends Thursday at 1:35 p.m. CT, and Texas closes the regular season with three games at the Minnesota Twins beginning Sept. 25.
