Brandon Nimmo knows outfield misplay was difference in Mets’ loss

Brandon Nimmo’s bat provided the first Mets run. His glove helped the Yankees score their last.

Nimmo’s up-and-down game will be remembered for the down. Nimmo allowed a would-be fly out to drop for a double, which led to the Yankees’ go-ahead run in a 7-6 Mets loss at Citi Field on Tuesday night.

“I made a mistake,” Nimmo said, “and we lost the game because of it.”

In the top of the sixth inning of a tie game, the Yankees’ Billy McKinney was on second base with one out when Anthony Volpe sent a Jeff Brigham four-seamer into right-center.

Nimmo got a good break on the ball, and his route was ideal. His speed allowed him to reach a fly ball other center fielders couldn’t.

But upon reaching the sinking drive, Nimmo stuck out his arm and watched the ball glance off his glove.

“I was thinking I was going to have to dive for it the whole time,” said Nimmo, who somehow was not charged with an error on what would be scored a Volpe double. “At the end I thought I would stay up on my feet and make the throw to third base and keep the guy on second.

“I just missed it.”

Nimmo went back to look at the video and saw that his head was pointing at the ball. He did not take his eyes off of it. He just whiffed.

Volpe wound up on second and McKinney on third. Josh Donaldson pinch hit for Jake Bauers and lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right field, providing the last run the Yankees would need.

Forgotten by the end was the beginning, when Nimmo knocked his sixth home run of the season as the Mets’ leadoff hitter in the first inning against Luis Severino. Recently, the Mets’ small mistakes have mattered more than their successes.

In Friday’s loss in Pittsburgh, Francisco Lindor booted a ground ball that, if fielded, likely would have led to an inning-ending double play. After the error, the Pirates exploded for a five-run inning that would jump-start a blowout Mets loss.

It is possible, Nimmo suggested, that the Mets’ frustration is leading individuals to try to do too much.

“Just rather than make the play and let it happen the way it’s supposed to, you’re trying to maybe go that extra mile,” said Nimmo, who otherwise has been an excellent outfielder. “It definitely could be part of the problem.

“You make small mistakes, and you lose by one run.”