After winning the opening game against the Texas Rangers, the Phillies lost the next two contests as their hitters struggled.
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“They were doomed by an anemic offensive performance in an 8-3 loss to Texas as the Phillies lost their first series of the year,” Lochlahn March. wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Collectively, they drew eight walks against the Rangers pitching, but a lack of power and timely hits limited any major comeback.”
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It didn’t help that a pair of key Phillies starters also struggled, with Aaron Nola allowing three earned runs in five innings and Jesús Luzardo allowing two home runs. And to add insult to injury, one of them came courtesy of a family enemy.
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In the third inning of game three, Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo hit a Luzardo sweeper for a two-run home run in what ended up being a lopsided 8-3 victory for the Rangers.
It was Nimmo’s first home run of the season and his first in a Rangers uniform after a decade with the New York Mets. He was traded away from Queens in an offseason shakeup after the Mets missed the playoffs last season, but Phillies fans certainly seemed to remember him.
“Nimmo appropriately made his Rangers debut in a very familiar place. In three games against the Phillies over the weekend, left-handed hitter Nimmo went 4 for 12 with a two-run homer off Jesús Luzardo,” Destiny Lugardo wrote for Phillies Nation. “He has run, not walked, to first base in Philadelphia after the four ball 42 times in his career. Every time he throws the bat and runs down the line, he hears the boos.”
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Following his debut series with the Rangers, Nimmo now has 11 career home runs at Citizens Bank Park, the most he has at any visiting park. And he now has a career batting average of .276 with a .401 on-base percentage in Phillies ballpark, compared to his .262 overall batting average and .364 on-base percentage.
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Although Nimmo is well-known among local Phillies fans and they let him hear their frustration, he seems to enjoy playing in Philadelphia and holds no grudge against his former NL East rivals.
“I hear the boos when I go up there and it’s just part of baseball… it’s good to know they still remember me,” Nimmo said after the game, according to Lugardo. “Even though they don’t like me, I appreciate their passion for their team and the game… And it’s totally fine that they don’t like me. I appreciate that they love their team and want their team to do well.”