They scored a run in the top of the ninth, on a Francisco Lindor sacrifice fly, to break a 2-2 tie, and Edwin Diaz closed it out for the save.
Here are the top takeaways…
— There was plenty of late drama, especially in the bottom of the ninth as Diaz had to get Aaron Judge for the final out of the game.
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Diaz got ahead 0-2 and then, after Judge worked the count to 3-2, struck out the Yankees’ superstar swinging at a high fastball.
— The Mets put together the winning rally in the ninth against Fernando Cruz, loading the bases with one out on a walk to Luis Torrens, and infield single by Brett Baty, and a hit-by-pitch to Tyrone Taylor.
Lindor, on a 3-1 count, delivered his sacrifice fly to right-center, just deep enough for pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña to score ahead of Cody Bellinger’s throw to the plate.
— Reed Garrett pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth for the Mets to keep the game tied 2-2.
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Garrett was fortunate, as he allowed three walks and a hard-hit double to right by Anthony Volpe. But he also got a 6-4-3 double play for the first two outs, and ended the inning when DJ LeMahieu line a hard-hit ball to Juan Soto in right.
— A questionable send of Brett Baty in the seventh inning didn’t wind up costing the Mets. On the play, Baty was thrown out at the plate in the top of the seventh on Taylor’s one-out double to left-center, leaving the game tied 2-2.
Watching the play live, it looked like an overly aggressive send of Baty by third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, as Volpe took the relay throw in shallow left in time to nail the runner.
Still, Baty might well have been safe with a better slide. The throw was up the line just enough that Baty needed to slide more to the inside of the field, away from the tag. Also, Lindor could have given Baty more directional help, as he saw the throw veering up the line as the on-deck hitter.
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Had Baty been held, the Mets would have had runners at second and third with one out and Lindor and Soto coming up.
— Griffin Canning delivered a solid start, allowing two runs over 5.1 innings with an assist from Huascar Brazoban, who got the final two outs of the sixth, stranding two inherited runners.
The Yankees clipped Canning for solo home runs by DJ Lemahieu and Bellinger for their two runs against him — a wall-scraper to right by Lemahieu and a 432-bomb to right-center by Bellinger.
Canning pitched exceptionally well against Judge in three at-bats, getting him on a routine fly to right, a strikeout swinging on a slider, and a soft ground ball to third by jamming him inside with a fastball.
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— Clarke Schmidt gave the Yankees a solid start as well, though he was fortunate that five walks didn’t cost him more as he allowed two runs over six innings.
Three of the walks came in the fourth inning, when the Mets scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead. But Schmidt pitched out of a bases-loaded jam, getting Brett Baty to fly to right to end the inning.
Soto stole third in the inning to set up the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Mark Vientos. For Soto it was his second steal in two games against the Yankees, both times getting an early jump and stealing without a throw.
— Judge had a rare rough day at the plate, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts as the Mets pitched him tough. The 0-fer dropped Judge’s average to .402.
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— Lemahieu, making his second start of the season after injury delay, had a big day with two hits and a very good defensive play at second, as he slid to backhand Lindor’s ground ball toward the middle and threw him out to end the top of the seventh.
Lemahieu’s homer was a Yankee Stadium Special, breaking a scoreless tie in the third inning. It was tracked at 333 feet, just clearing the fence toward the right field corner. According to Baseball Savant, it would have been a home run in four of the 30 major league ballparks.
Game MVP: Francisco Lindor
It wasn’t the most heroic of MVP games, but Lindor came through with a sac fly in the ninth. No small matter for a team that has struggled with runners in scoring position at times this season, and especially lately.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets wrap up their Subway Series against the Yankees on Sunday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
David Peterson (2-2, 3.05 ERA) will take the mound, opposite Max Fried (6-0, 1.11 ERA).
