Brandon Nimmo’s slump out of the All-Star break continued Wednesday, but the Mets’ No. 2 hitter appears to have avoided the worst after leaving the game with what certainly looked like a painful foot injury.
Nimmo was removed from the Mets’ 8-3 loss to the Twins after fouling a ball off the top of his left foot while batting in the sixth inning.
He said afterward that X-rays came back clean and that he expects to be in the lineup for the opener of a 10-game road trip Friday in Anaheim.
“It’s sore, but it’ll be fine,” said Nimmo, who also dealt with a knee issue earlier on the homestand. “The X-rays were negative and we’ll be good to go Friday. Good timing on the off-day, and we’ll be back at it Friday.
“I’m just a little beat up, but it’s the end of July, going into August now, and that’s just the way it is. It’ll be all good. But by this point in the season, you’re gonna be a little bit beat up. Just take it in stride, wear it, enjoy the off-day [Thursday] and be back at it Friday.”
Nimmo hobbled around for several seconds to attempt to walk off the pain in his foot before resuming the at-bat against Minnesota starter Pablo Lopez, which resulted in a strikeout for the first out of the inning.
Nimmo, who was hitless in three at-bats in the game, was replaced in left field to start the seventh by Ben Gamel.
“It got him good, but day-to-day,” manager Carlos Mendoa said. “I think he could have kept going, but I didn’t want to take a chance there.”
The 31-year-old Nimmo leads the Mets with 65 RBIs this season, but he is batting .111 (5-for-45) with no homers and two RBIs with 16 strikeouts in 12 games since the All-Star break.
“Oh, terrible,” Nimmo replied when asked how he’s felt at the plate since returning from the four-day respite on July 19. “That is what it is. I’ll get out of it, always do. But yeah, I don’t feel good.”
Mendoza also doesn’t appear overly concerned with Nimmo’s recent slump.
The lefty hitter was among the keys to the Mets’ resurgence into playoff contention with a .309/.390/.588 slash line (.978 OPS) and 33 RBIs in 33 games between June 2 and July 13.
“He’s a little off, but he’ll continue to give you good at-bats and find ways to get on base,” Mendoza said. “He’ll find a way to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, he’ll find a way to pass the baton when we need him to.
“Even when maybe he’s not feeling his best offensively, he’ll continue to give us some really good at-bats.”