How a Fielding Error Has Elevated a Rangers 33-Year-Old’s Performance
Brandon Nimmo has been on an absolute tear in the last two games he’s appeared in. Still, one mistake the veteran outfielder made on August 3rd in the first game of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants may be the reason he’s been playing motivated baseball. On what appeared to be a routine ground ball to shallow right field, Nimmo tried to make a quick play, but failed to get his glove down in time, allowing the ball to sneak past him for a two-base error. This defensive miscue contributed to a multi-error second inning for Texas, leaving long reliever Cal Quantrill in a difficult situation and resulting in a 5-1 loss.
Calling the play “inexcusable,” the veteran knows how to bounce back from errors, and he has certainly done so in his last two game appearances. In eight at-bats, he’s tallied five hits, along with one home run and one double, with three RBI, and a batting average sitting at an incredible .625. He played a crucial role in the Rangers winning the last two games against the Giants, securing a much-needed series win in a tight, competitive division where the Astros have been surging as of late. In those two wins on August 4th and 5th, the 33-year-old right fielder got three base hits, with one being a run-scoring double to get the scoring party started. The former New York Met was able to get those three hits in five plate appearances. In the last game of the series, the former first-round pick knocked in two hits in three plate appearances, including a solo home run to left field and a one-run single.
Nimmo has the veteran presence and skill set to get the Rangers out of their slump of inconsistency, as they haven’t been able to sustain a consistent win streak in quite some time; their last six-game win streak was in late June, when they swept the Toronto Blue Jays and took two games against Cleveland. Although it’s been some time, the Rangers are riding on that aforementioned two-game win streak and can continue that streak in the win column against a Baltimore Orioles squad that’s also fighting for a playoff spot. If Skip Schumaker's squad can rally behind the late heroics from Nimmo, the AL West can become very interesting in the coming months as the playoffs start in October.
