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WASHINGTON — Brandon Nimmo began Monday below the Mendoza line and proceeded to have the kind of game a manager named Mendoza could love.
The Mets outfielder already had three RBIs when he came to the plate in the seventh inning, but he was about to triple that total over his next two plate appearances.
Nimmo’s grand slam in the seventh highlighted his two-homer, nine RBI performance in the Mets’ 19-5 victory over the Nationals.
Nimmo’s RBI total tied the franchise mark for a single game, established by Carlos Delgado in 2008.
It was the kind of day the Mets (20-9) needed after two walk-off losses in the series, including on Sunday, when the bullpen blew a six-run lead.
Carlos Mendoza’s crew finished with a split in the series and will return to Citi Field for three games against the Diamondbacks beginning Tuesday.
Batting again with the bases loaded, in the eighth inning, Nimmo smashed a two-run double, allowing him to tie Delgado’s single-game Mets record.
Nimmo, who entered batting .192, finished 4-for-6 to raise that mark to .218. The nine RBIs increased his total to 21 for the season, second on the team to Pete Alonso’s 27.
Griffin Canning dodged trouble over five shutout innings in which he allowed four hits and three walks and struck out five. The right-hander saw his ERA drop to 2.61 before departing at 90 pitches.
Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double and Jeff McNeil’s ensuing sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 2-0 lead against Trevor Williams in the second inning.
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Mark Vientos and Nimmo each singled in the inning before Alvarez hit a sinking line drive to left field that a diving Alex Call couldn’t grab.
It was the third RBI in the series for Alvarez, whose two-run homer on Saturday accounted for the Mets’ only scoring in a victory.
Canning created early traffic but managed to escape trouble. In the second, he allowed singles to Dylan Crews and Call before striking out Jacob Young to end the inning.
In the third, CJ Abrams singled leading off and James Wood walked before Canning struck out Luis García Jr. and got Nathaniel Lowe to hit into a double play. In the fourth, Canning again avoided damage after allowing two base runners.
McNeil homered on Williams’ first pitch of the fifth inning to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0.
It was the first homer of the season for McNeil, who along with Alvarez returned to the team on Friday after opening the season on the injured list.
Jesse Winker and Vientos walked in succession against Williams to begin the sixth inning. Nimmo followed with a blast against lefty Colin Poche that buried the Nationals in a 6-0 hole.
In the seventh, Alonso’s RBI single extended the lead. Winker walked to load the bases before Nimmo hit a shot into the right field seats for his second career grand slam.
José Ureña, in his Mets debut, surrendered five earned runs in the eighth after working a scoreless seventh. Ureña returned to pitch a scoreless ninth.
The Nationals used infielder Amed Rosario to pitch the ninth. Vientos blasted a three-run homer in the inning to conclude the onslaught. Winker also had an RBI single in the inning.