Flipped in the order, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor deliver for Mets

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NEW YORK — When Carlos Mendoza pulled Francisco Lindor aside between games of the Mets’ doubleheader Wednesday, he had two ostensibly contradictory messages.

First, Lindor had officially been voted the National League’s starting shortstop for the All-Star Game in two weeks. Second, he was being bumped down in the order out of the leadoff spot for the first time in 206 games.

Lindor’s response?

“Whatever you feel is best for the team, I’m all in.”

Mendoza didn’t even need to ask Brandon Nimmo about moving back into the leadoff spot; Nimmo had made clear throughout the season that he didn’t care where he hit.

“When you’ve got superstars that are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win a baseball game, as a manager that’s all you need,” Mendoza said. “That’s a privilege to me.”

Stars who are open to change help, for sure. Stars who respond to that change with back-to-back homers in a five-run second inning? That’s what the Mets really needed Wednesday night, and that’s what Nimmo and Lindor provided.

First pitch grand slam for @You_Found_Nimmo! 💣 pic.twitter.com/u6z7Adt7TH

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 2, 2025

Nimmo’s grand slam off fireballing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski was the big hit the Mets have been waiting weeks for. Lindor followed with his own big fly, and New York led the rest of the way in a 7-3 win over the Brewers to split Wednesday’s doubleheader. It allowed the Mets to exhale, if briefly. They’ve won just four times in their last 18 games.

Nearly three weeks ago, it was a six-run inning by the Rays that sent the Mets over the cliff and into this extended funk; they hope their five-run outburst Wednesday night can spell its overdue end.

Nimmo’s grand slam came off a first-pitch 96 mph slider — you read that right — from the 6-foot-7 Misiorowski, who’d struck him out on four triple-digit fastballs to lead off the game. How is a hitter ready for a pitch he’s never seen before, a pitch that had Juan Soto chuckling when he took it for a strike earlier in the night?

“You just try to take a very simple, short swing and get the barrel to the ball,” Nimmo said. “Definitely not trying to hit a home run there, but he’s supplying a lot of the power.”

The ball hung in the air long enough to count one Misiorowski, two Misiorowski, three, before landing five rows deep into the right-field seats. No, this was not the most memorable home run to right field the Mets have hit against the Brewers of late. That other one last fall literally saved a season. This one only felt like it did.

“Finally,” Mendoza said, “we got the big one.”

While Nimmo and Lindor came through with the biggest hits of the night, the Mets received critical contributions from unexpected sources. The three runners on base for Nimmo’s grand slam? That would be Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Hayden Senger, three players who have spent plenty of time in the minor leagues this season. Baty and Mauricio exhibited patience against Misiorowski to work two-out walks. Senger followed with a groundball off Misiorowski’s glove for an infield single — just the second hit to a righty that Misiorowski had allowed in 32 at-bats this season.

Possessing that eye-opening stuff, Misiorowski had come into that inning having allowed two runs on three hits over his first 17 big-league frames. The Mets dinged him for five runs on three hits in between outs.

It was the kind of quick-strike rally the Mets made their trademark late in 2024 and into the start of this season — a trait that’s been sorely lacking over the last three weeks. New York had scored just six runs in its prior four games; the five runs in that second inning were more than the offense had posted in 15 of its last 17 full games.

Lindor’s homer ended a 2-for-30 stretch for him, and he didn’t stop there. He ended the night with three two-out RBI hits, adding a single in the sixth and double in the eighth. He had three two-out RBI hits in all of June. The Mets hadn’t had one since last Thursday.

That’s our All-Star! @Lindor12BC | #LGM pic.twitter.com/279ROdVu49

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 2, 2025

Mendoza attributed the lineup switch to the makeup of Milwaukee’s bullpen. With multiple late-game lefties in that pen, he didn’t want Nimmo and Soto hitting back-to-back. He said only that he’d remain “flexible” on what the lineup would look like moving forward.

Key in making that early lead stand up was Blade Tidwell. Like Misiorowski, Tidwell is a 2022 draft pick making his fourth career big-league appearance Wednesday night. Unlike Misiorowski, the first three had not been historically impressive. But Tidwell pitched better than his counterpart Wednesday, allowing three runs over 4 1/3 innings for his first major-league win.

“It’s something you dream about your whole life,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for more.”

It’s one game, one feel-good win in what’s been a string of otherwise enervating losses. But it was a reminder that yes, this can and should be a good baseball team, one capable of many more nights like this one.

“Everybody’s playing for each other, everybody’s trying to be better,” Lindor said. “Nobody’s going to give it to us. We’ve got to go out and take it.”

(Photo of Brandon Nimmo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

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