The lone blemish on Kodai Senga’s night was erased before it could impact the scoreboard.
That was Brandon Nimmo’s doing — a defensive run saved in the purest form — as the Mets center fielder tracked back to the wall in deep left-center field and got over the fence to save a sure home run off the bat of Nick Castellanos.
According to Statcast, the fourth-inning shot traveled 388 feet off Castellanos’ bat, and would have been a home run in four of 30 ballparks.
Conspicuously, Citi Field is not included on that list.
“I knew that there was going to be a possibility, and so when I got to the track and I was able to start timing it up, that’s when I was saying, ‘If I can time this right, I’ll get it,’ ” Nimmo said following a 2-0 Mets win over the Phillies in which his act of heroism represented the only time all night the visiting side had a real scoring threat. “But everything has to work out perfectly, and that timing has to be just right. Luckily, I was able to time that and get it over those metal bars before it bounces all over the place.”
Senga, who finished seven masterful innings giving up just one hit with nine strikeouts, struck a pose of relief on the mound — both hands up in celebration, a disbelieving smile.
His only mistake all night turned out to be one he could afford.
“Especially talking to people who were here before I got here, the way that [Nimmo’s] grown as a player defensively, and he’s one of those guys — we’ve got a lot of them on the team — they see something where they may not be as good as they’re capable of being and they attack it,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Just constantly going out there and working on things that you’re not good at, it takes someone very team-oriented to go out there and work on the things that keep you from being a complete player. And Nimmo works hard at it.”
Nimmo pinpointed over-the-shoulder balls as an area he’s worked on defensively, which paid off not only with the robbery of Castellanos but with a running grab on a Trea Turner fly ball.
“I’ve gotten more comfortable with it,” he said. “I’ve gotten more comfortable taking my eye off the ball and just running to spots. I think it’s allowed me to get to more balls.”
Castellanos did pay back Nimmo in kind, taking away a couple of RBIs from him with a running catch of his own in the seventh and telling the Mets’ center fielder, “Now we’re even.”
Nimmo said he felt that was a fair deal.
The Mets’ victory might say otherwise.
