Brandon Nimmo’s walk-off homer in 12th inning lifts 51s
The 51s went to extremes Tuesday in search of a win.
Mired in an eight-game losing streak, they held a pregame sacrificing of a stuffed Mr. Met to try to reverse their fortunes.
“We had to sacrifice something to try to get a win, and it worked,” Las Vegas manager Wally Backman said.
Well, that and a Brandon Nimmo walk-off home run in the 12th inning.
With Nimmo’s walk-off, the 51s beat Round Rock 7-5 at Cashman Field in the first game of the series to get back on the right track in dramatic fashion.
“When I hit that ball, I just put my head down and was like ‘Oh, yes, finally. We win a game, we’re done, we can move on,’” Nimmo said. “I was expecting to be like ‘Yeah!’ when I hit it, but it was just like a sense of relief. I was just like ‘OK, good, we’re done, we won, now we can put this behind us.’”
The 51s (58-66) looked as if they were headed for a win well before that after starter Sean Gilmartin tossed five shutout innings in his second game back from the disabled list.
Meanwhile, the 51s built a five-run lead by the fifth, thanks in large part to Nimmo and Michael Conforto.
Conforto drove in Nimmo with an RBI groundout in the first inning, and two innings later, both hit homers — Conforto’s a two-run shot — to pad the Las Vegas lead.
Both were sent down by the New York Mets this week and have been hot at the plate since then. Conforto, who finished the day with four hits, is 9-for-15 since arriving in Las Vegas, and Nimmo is 11-for-25 after a 3-for-6 day Tuesday.
“To see both those guys swing the bat the way that they did tonight, especially against left-handed pitching, I think is key,” Backman said.
For a while, it looked as if the lead the two outfielders helped create would stick.
The Express scored one run each in both the seventh and eighth, but the 51s still took a three-run lead into the ninth for closer Paul Sewald.
Round Rock got to Sewald, though, with a Hanser Alberto two-run homer to cut the lead to one. Sewald loaded the bases after that and uncorked a wild pitch allowing Las Vegan Joey Gallo to score to tie the game.
“They competed. They really did. I know Sewald. That’s not normal for Paulie to give up three runs like that,” Backman said. “The wild pitch to the game like that … that’s not the way he goes about his business generally, but as bad of luck as we’ve had the last eight games where we’ve lost in a row, you never know what’s going to happen.”
After Round Rock tied the score, Sewald pitched a clean 10th and Jeff Walters added two scoreless innings to set the stage for Nimmo’s heroics.
“It’s a big relief just to be able to get the win, especially after the way the ninth turned out,” Nimmo said. “(It was) just really disheartening and so it was just nice.”
Up next
Who: Round Rock Express at Las Vegas 51s
When: 7:05 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Cashman Field
Starters: Nick Martinez (7-6, 4.06 ERA), 51s, vs. Robert Gsellman (1-5, 5.70 ERA)
Next five
Thursday: Round Rock at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Friday: Round Rock at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 1:35 p.m.
Monday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.
Update
Robert Gsellman will be going for his sixth straight quality start Wednesday. In his past five games, he has given up 12 earned runs in 32 2/3 innings, good for a 3.31 ERA. In the three game before that, he had given up 19 runs — 15 earned — in 10 innings.
Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand