A scintillating night at Citi Field ends with the catch of the year, and a Mets win

The Mets out-duel the Dodgers on an exciting night in Queens. Plus, how Brandon Nimmo's incredible catch lifted the team to new heights.

Rich MacLeod

Sep 01, 2022

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾

The Mets pulled out an exciting victory against the Dodgers, winning by a score of 2-1 (box)
RHP Jacob deGrom was brilliant, allowing just one run with nine strikeouts over seven innings
RF Starling Marte delivered the decisive hit for the club in the third inning, smashing a two-run home run (16)
CF Brandon Nimmo made the catch of the year, robbing Justin Turner of what would have been a game-tying home run in the 7th with an incredible leaping grab
RHPs Adam Ottavino and Edwin Díaz nailed down the win out of the bullpen, combining to pitch two perfect innings with three strikeouts
The Mets are 3-3 against the Dodgers this season, and can clinch their first season series win against them since 2015 with a victory this afternoon
Jacob deGrom has now allowed one or no runs in a game for the 100th time in his career (out of 204 career starts)
The Mets are now 72-0 this season when leading after eight innings
3B Brett Baty could miss the remainder of the 2022 season with a UCL tear in his right thumb
The Braves won on Wednesday night, keeping the Mets lead in the NL East at three games

Roster Moves 📰

3B Brett Baty (torn UCL in right thumb) placed on 10-day injured list
OF Terrance Gore called up from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Adonis Medina and INF Devin Marrero will be the club’s two September 1st call-ups, according to reports

Injury Updates 🏥

RHP Tylor Megill (right shoulder strain) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton today
INF Luis Guillorme (left groin strain) will begin a rehab assignment on Sunday

Who’s Hot 🔥

Starling Marte is now hitting .333/.400/.667 with four home runs, four doubles, a triple, 11 RBI, nine runs scored, three stolen bases and a 1.067 OPS over his last 14 games
After not pitching in the major leagues for 13 months, Jacob deGrom is now 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA, 1.42 FIP, 55 strikeouts and just three walks in 36.1 innings pitched this season
Edwin Díaz has a 0.53 ERA, negative 0.12 FIP, 65 strikeouts, seven walks, two wins, three holds and is 18-for-18 in save opportunities since May 27th

The Pennant Race 🏁

Magic Number: 2️⃣9️⃣
NL East lead: 3️⃣ games
On-pace: 1️⃣0️⃣3️⃣ wins
Playoff odds (FanGraphs):
- Make the playoffs: 100 percent ↔️
- Win the National League East: 84.7 percent ⬆️
- Clinch a first round bye: 84.4 percent ⬆️
- Win the World Series: 17.1 percent ↔️

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (83-48) vs. Dodgers (90-39)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, New York

Starters: RHP Chris Bassitt (11-7, 3.34 ERA) vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.64 ERA)

When: 4:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network

An incredible night at Citi Field, capped by the catch heard ‘round the world 📝

What an incredible ballgame that was at Citi Field on Wednesday night.

The Mets and Dodgers continued their heavyweight bout as the National League’s two greatest powers in 2022, which ended in a one-run margin for the second consecutive night.

It was a classic pitcher’s duel last night, started by Jacob deGrom dominating and Tyler Anderson pitching effectively to contact. Both pitchers were nearly perfect, each allowing a home run as their only blemishes on the mound.

It was a near perfectly played game on both sides, but one moment of this game stands high above the rest.

With the Mets clinging to a 2-1 lead with one out in the 7th, former New York infielder Justin Turner made a bid for a game-tying home run vs deGrom. Brandon Nimmo got a great jump off the bat and raced back to the warning track as fast as he could, culminating in a leap that was perfect in sync with the flight of the baseball.

As Nimmo’s feet returned to the outfield dirt the packed Citi Field crowd held it’s collective breathe for just one moment, waiting — praying — to see that their center fielder somehow grabbed a hold of it.

“He made the catch!” Gary Cohen exclaimed on the SNY broadcast. “Oh wow! The catch of the year from Brandon Nimmo!”

Nimmo pumped his fist and shouted, deGrom threw his hands toward the sky and the Citi Field crowd erupted into a state of pandemonium and absolute euphoria. Somehow, some way, Brandon Nimmo had hauled it in, glove fully over the wall, and made one of the greatest catches you’ll ever see.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s the best catch I’ve seen by any Met since Endy Chavez in Game 7 the 2006 NLCS. Considering the situation, the caliber of team they were playing and the sheer difficulty of the grab itself, this is as good of a catch by anyone for this franchise over the last 16 seasons — no disrespect to Mike Baxter, who still has one of the biggest and maybe my favorite catch by a Met ever.

These are the kinds of plays that can lift you over great opponents, the ones that come in magical seasons that make you feel like you can reach new heights.

Undoubtedly the greatest play of his career, Brandon Nimmo raised his play to a completely new level and carried his teammates to a critical victory over the vaunted L.A. Dodgers.

“That was amazing, this is playoff baseball right here, ” Nimmo said after the game. “This is what I was dreaming of — Citi Field being full of passionate, loyal Mets fans who have been through some tough times that are ready for some good times.”

What a moment. What a game. The catch of the year, indeed.

Down on the Farm 🌾

Ronny Mauricio (SS, No. 6 prospect, Double-A): 3-for-4, RBI, 2 runs scored
Christian Scott (RHP, No. 28 prospect, Single-A): 4 IP, 6 H, ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Omar De Los Santos (LF, Low-A): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 SB, run scored

Box Scores: Triple-A | Double-A | Single-A | Low-A

Around the League 🚩

The Braves ended their three-game losing streak, holding on to defeat the Rockies 3-2
Orioles No. 1 prospect Gunnar Henderson homered in his second career at-bat in the club’s 4-0 victory
Padres LHP Josh Hader actually converted a save as San Diego beat the Giants 5-4
The Rays edged out the Marlins in extra innings, winning by a 2-1 score in 10 innings
The Phillies put an end to their three-game slide with a late-night blowout over Arizona
The Yankees completed a 10-18 month of August after allowing a go-ahead homer to Shohei Ohtani for the second straight night