PHILADELPHIA -- Brandon Nimmo entered the 2026 season with 10 homers at Citizens Bank Park, the most he’s had at any visiting ballpark.
He added one more on Sunday afternoon, collecting his first homer as a member of the Rangers when he drove a first-pitch sweeper from Jesús Luzardo a Statcast-projected 410 feet into the home bullpen in right-center field for a two-run shot to open the scoring in the third inning.
Nimmo was one of three newcomers -- joining MacKenzie Gore and Andrew McCutchen -- to make his presence known in the Rangers’ 8-3 win on Sunday.
“It's always nice when you come into a new team and contribute right away,” Nimmo said. “There's no getting around that. You want to try and get off on the right foot. I think the way that you do that is by understanding that it's a long season and try not to do too much. Just focus on your preparation -- what got you here, what's kept you here -- and just try to be you. The guys higher up that make the decisions, they're the ones that are trying to piece it all together. For me, I’m just trying to be myself.”
With the Rangers opening the season in Philadelphia, Nimmo, the former Met, now has 121 career games against the Phillies, his most against any opponent.
He looked right at home this weekend against the Phillies, becoming a much-needed engine to power the Rangers' offense. Nimmo went 4-for-12 (.333) with a walk and a stolen base as the leadoff hitter in the season-opening series win.
“Nimmo is always a tough out, and fighting off pitches,” said first baseman Jake Burger. “It felt like that’s something we were missing last year, in terms of somebody that's going to fight from pitch one because he is leading off. It's really exciting to watch him work and go about his business.”
“It's a good tone setter,” Corey Seager added. “It wears down the starter. It lets you know that it's going to be a fight from pitch one. It's definitely a good thing to have at the top of the lineup.”
The Rangers acquired Nimmo in a one-for-one trade with the Mets that sent Marcus Semien to New York this offseason. Nimmo was a first-round pick by the Mets in the 2011 MLB Draft and had spent his entire 10-year career with the club before the trade. He waived his no-trade clause to join Texas.
Nimmo moved to right field on a full-time basis this spring, allowing for young outfielders Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford to hold down the other two spots.
Nimmo has already made an impact both on and off the field in the opening days of the season.
“Brandon sets the tone for us right out of the gate -- just with the way he prepares, the way he's taking the lead with the outfield and helping these young guys get to where they want to get,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “His game planning is elite. He knows exactly what he wants to do at the plate every time. It doesn't always work out, but he knows what he wants to do and what he wants to accomplish. For him to do what he's doing is impressive.”