NEW YORK -- Brandon Nimmo was still turned away from the field, busy posing with Francisco Lindor for the Mets’ customary post-homer photograph, when he heard the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd. Nimmo looked up to see Juan Soto rounding the bases as well.
“Just signs of good things to come,” Nimmo said afterward.
For Nimmo and Soto, consecutive home runs in the fourth inning on Saturday keyed an 8-2 thumping of the Rockies at Citi Field and marked the first time the Mets have gone back-to-back this season. For the team this was yet another sign that its early offensive woes could be dissipating -- right on cue.
It was in mid-May last year that manager Carlos Mendoza, looking to shake up an underperforming lineup, moved Lindor into the leadoff spot. It worked. Almost overnight, Lindor morphed into an MVP candidate and the offense began humming.
One year and three days after that move, Mendoza engineered a more subtle change, bumping both Soto and Pete Alonso down a spot. Though Mendoza downplayed it at the time, the shift seemed to be in direct response to Soto’s season-opening slump.
“I am not a guy that likes to overreact,” Mendoza said that afternoon. “I like consistency and to give guys chances, but I just felt today was a day to move people around.”
Since that game in Boston, the Mets have seen a modest bump in offensive production, averaging 4.67 runs per game compared with 4.35 before the switch. But for Mendoza, this new lineup arrangement seems to carry significant potential -- especially against right-handed pitchers, with Nimmo occupying the No. 2 spot.
In four games so far featuring Lindor leading off, Nimmo batting second and Soto third, that trio is batting .271 with nine runs scored. Eight of those runs have come in their past two games against right-handers, including five on Saturday. And while it’s fair to note the rejuvenation has happened against two of baseball’s worst teams, the Rockies and White Sox, it’s also true that this arrangement can theoretically work against anyone.
“For me right now, I’ll just try to come through in big moments for the team,” Soto said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m second or third.”
Soto’s end of the back-to-back was his first home run since May 9. Brett Baty also hit a bases-clearing triple in the first inning, plating -- you guessed it -- Lindor, Nimmo and Soto.
“With Nimmo swinging the bat the way he is, and Lindor, you’re creating traffic for the big boys,” Mendoza said. “And we’ve seen that. I feel like since we’ve made that adjustment, those guys have been getting on for [their teammates], and they continue to come up to the plate with traffic. It’s still early, obviously, but I like what I’m seeing so far.”
Speaking generally about the Mets’ lineup earlier this week, president of baseball operations David Stearns noted that the specific order tends not to matter. A lineup card featuring Lindor, Nimmo, Soto and Alonso is probably going to be successful regardless of where those four hit.
But good hitters can feed off one another in both tangible and intangible ways. If all four hitters at the top of New York’s lineup are clicking, they can help one another wear out opponents and see better pitches. They can create constant traffic on the bases, providing additional opportunities for runs and RBIs.
In Nimmo’s estimation, the more run-scoring chances that group can create, the more opportunities it will have to erase an early narrative surrounding the Mets -- that they struggle to hit with runners in scoring position.
“We’ve had some success with that,” Nimmo said of recent games.
It helps that the Mets have also had buy-in. When Mendoza first proposed the lineup change to Soto and Alonso, knowing it would create headlines for a slumping offense, both responded that they would happily hit wherever their manager wanted. Mendoza stuck with the new lineup for the better part of two weeks despite a lack of immediate results.
Now that more success is coming, Nimmo, Soto and Co. are convinced about what this lineup can achieve.
“For me, it’s not too big of a deal where I hit, but if we’re having success as a team and I’m hitting there, that’s fantastic,” Nimmo said. “I’ll stay there all he wants. I think it’s great. We’ll ride that wave as long as we possibly can.”