Mets LF Brandon Nimmo's NLCS injury battle earns ultimate Francisco Lindor respect
The playoffs bring out a different side of athletes. Players tend to give a little more in the postseason and are able to block out the noise, and sometimes the pain, to remain on the field for the season's most important games. The New York Mets are getting that type of grit from Brandon Nimmo .
Nimmo is playing through plantar fasciitis and is clearly in pain on the field. Still, he's providing a spark for the Mets in more ways than one. New York lost Game 4 of the NLCS Thursday night to put their season on the brink, but Nimmo provided a pair of hits as he proves to be one of the toughest players in the league.
He's not just doing this for show. It's the type of player and person he is. Selfless and part of something bigger. His teammates are taking notice .
"I told him, 'I appreciate what you're doing for us,'" Francisco Lindor said, per MLB.com. "It's not easy. A lot of players would have said, 'Ah, that's it. I can't move.' But he's coming in, he's preparing, and he's working as hard as he can."
If there's anyone who knows what it's like to play through pain, it's Lindor. The Mets' MVP missed a chunk of September with a back injury and is likely still playing hurt. If he is he's not showing it, but even with Nimmo hobbling he's a valuable player for the Mets.
They'll need Nimmo and Lindor at their very best the rest of the way.
No turning back for the Mets
Well, this is it for the Mets. All the magical late-inning rallies and exciting endings of September and October can't save New York now. The Mets need to buckle down and win their next three games or their hopes of a pennant are over.
New York's offense has gone silent in this series. The Dodgers shut out the Mets in Game 1 and Game 3, then blew them out in Game 4 with a 10-run outburst. The Mets scored seven in their Game 2 win but have only two runs outside of that in three games.
New York is outmanned and outmuscled by Los Angeles, but the Mets are a talented squad. They've handled tough competition before, in the playoffs as well, and should make this a series rather than lay down.
Of course, the Dodgers could prove too good for the Mets to handle, as they have done three times already in October. If that's the case, there's only so much the Mets can do.
