NEW YORK -- The Mets brought a storm with them in their 8-2 win over the Nationals and catcher Tomas Nido was the thunder.
In the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded, Nido, who already had two strikes, stared down an 82 mph changeup, put the barrel of the bat to the ball and launched it like he was trying to go fishing for the home run apple.
It was Nido's first career grand slam, and first career multi-homer game. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Nido launched a two-run homer to left center field.
Nido wasn't the only one to go yard on Thursday. Dominic Smith, who was the designated hitter popped a second-inning solo homer over the centerfield wall to get the Mets in the game.
Smith's continued presence in the lineup continued to prove how useful that DH spot has been in including key hitters in games. Smith's bat has contributed to the Mets' offensive output over the last two wins.
Thursday he went 2-4 with that homer and a double, a near-identical stat line to the one he had less than 24 hours prior. His homer jump-started the Mets offense.
Overall the Mets' offense has shown improvements since their first two games of this series against the Nats. One of the biggest factors in their losses was leaving runners stranded on base and in scoring position. Manager Luis Rojas on Tuesday said the team had no problem creating traffic on the bases, but were failing to get "the big hit" and getting runners back home.
"We've had some tough games already in the season, but the guys are always there fighting," Rojas said after the Mets beat the Nationals on Wednesday night. "Hitting with runners in scoring positions is one of the things that we haven't, you know, been able to be consistent at."
That's a problem that has plagued the team all season, but something they seem to be improving in, if even just a little. Thursday the Mets went 3-for-16 with RISP, and the pitching and defense stabilized, keeping the Nationals in check to salvage a split in the series.
The Mets were trailing 0-1 in the first inning after David Peterson got into a little trouble early on. He loaded the bases _ two reached on walks, another on a fielder's choice after Nido made a throwing error. Trea Turner, the batter Peterson walked first, was able to score after Howie Kendrick grounded out to Peterson, who threw the ball to first.
Peterson was not charged with the run and otherwise performed seamlessly. After giving up one hit over five innings and 74 pitches, he was pulled for reliever Jared Hughes.
