For the first eight innings, this game that felt very much like a microcosm of the Mets’ season thus far, with every potential good turn being erased by poor performance and bad luck. Then, the ninth inning happened. And then the tenth. The Mets won the game 7-6, taking the Queens half of the Subway Series and sending lots of Yankee fans home unhappy.
Oh well.
Freddy Peralta got two easy ground balls to Marcus Semien to start off the game. Walks to Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger put two on, but Jazz
Chisholm Jr. struck out to end the top of the frame. Elmer Rodríguez had a similar start to his game, with the first two batters grounding out to shortstop Anthony Volpe. Judge’s counterpoint on the Mets’ in the ‘generational player’ department, Juan Soto, singled for the first hit of the game, but Mark Vientos flew out to right to end the inning.
After Peralta retired the first two hitters, Anthony Volpe collected his first hit of the season, lining a double up the middle. However, J.C. Escarra lined out to center, stranding Volpe on second. However, in the top of the third, Ben Rice put the Yankees on the board with a one-out solo home run to center. Judge flew out for the second out, but back to back walks to Bellinger and Chisholm put two on for Ryan McMahon. McMahon grounded out to second, limiting the damage to just one run.
A.J. Ewing added the second Mets’ hit of the afternoon, leading off the third with a single up the middle. Hayden Senger attempted to bunt him over, but he popped it straight up for the first out. Ewing stole second, but neither Carson Benge nor Bo Bichette could knock him in.
In the fourth, Vientos and Baty both singled ahead of Semien, who drove a double down the right field line, scoring Vientos and tying the game. Ewing took a walk from Rodríguez to bring up Senger with the bases loaded. A weak dribbler to short ended the inning, and the Mets stranded three on base.
Peralta had a shut down inning in the fifth, getting the top of the Yankees’ lineup to all fly or pop out, while keeping his pitch count at 86, allowing a potential sixth inning appearance. In the bottom of the frame, Rodríguez hit Benge and got Bichette to fly out before being pulled in favor of lefty Ryan Yarbrough to face Soto. A swinging bunt on the first pitch from Yarbrough pushed Benge to second. Vientos jumped on a fastball for a single, putting men on the corners with two outs. Tyrone Taylor pinch hit for MJ Melendez for the handedness advantage. Taylor hit it on the screws, but Trent Grisham dove for the ball and caught it for the third out.
Bellinger walked to lead off the sixth, and was moved to second on a wild pitch from Peralta. Chisholm walked, and that would do it for Peralta. The six walks on the afternoon overshadowed a two hit, four strikeout performance. Sean Manaea was first out of the bullpen, and a McMahon bunt pushed the runners into scoring position. Pinch hitter Paul Goldschmidt worked a full count before getting hit on the foot to load the bases, still with just one out. Anthony Volped lined the first pitch he saw into left for a two-run single. Taylor lollipopped the throw, missing the cutoff man, and allowed the runners to advance to second and third. Old friend Amed Rosario hit a sac fly to make it 4-1. A lazy fly ball was dropped by Bichette, allowing yet another run to score and things just kept unraveling. Why Taylor didn’t call him off is beyond me.
When the dust settled on the inning, the Mets gave up four runs on one hit. Read that again. Le sigh.
Yarbrough remained in the game to start the sixth, an quickly got Baty to fly out for the first out. A Semien single and another Ewing walk put two on, and that was enough for Aaron Boone, who pulled Yarbough in favor of Jake Bird. With that, the Mets also pulled Senger in favor of Luis Torrens. The move paid off, as Torrens doubled into the right-field corner, scoring both Semien and Ewing and making it 5-3.
Benge was up next, and worked a full count in a great at-bat before striking out on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. Next up was Bichette, hoping to atone for the dropped ball in the prior inning. Two for his last 37, Bichette looked due for some redemption and an RBI. It wasn’t to be; he floated a fly ball out to right-center for the third out of the inning.
The parade of baserunners for Manaea continued, with singles to Bellinger and Chisholm and a four pitch walk to Max Schuemann. Volpe came up with the bases loaded, and Manaea ran the count full before an errant fastball walked in a run. Austin Wells tapped a ball back to Manea to end the inning, but the Mets found themselves another run in the hole.
Camilo Doval pitched the seventh for the Yankees, retiring Soto, Vientos, and Taylor without a baserunner.
Because the Mets ran through most of their bullpen yesterday, Manaea pitched the eighth and looked easily the best he had all day, striking out both Grisham and Judge. In the bottom half of the inning, Ewing walked for the third time to give the Mets their only baserunner against Fernando Cruz. Manaea got a double play to retire the Yankees in order in the ninth, and the Mets had one final shot with the top of the order to come back.
Benge led off the inning against closer David Bednar by muscling a ball up in the zone for a soft liner base hit. Bichette [checks notes] hit a single up the middle, snapping an 0-15 stretch? That can’t be right, can it?
Soto strode to the plate as the tying run. He pounded one into the ground down to first, pushing Benge to third, erasing Bichette at second, and allowing Soto to reach on a fielder’s choice. Vientos was up next, and flailed at two curve balls before striking out on a high fastball, and the Mets were down to their last out. Soto stole second on the strikeout, which was odd as his run didn’t mean anything.
Who’s run did mean something? Tyrone Taylor. He of missed defensive cues and two hard hit outs took Bednar deep to left field, turning on a ball and absolutely crushing it to tie the game. The ball hugged the line, but it no doubt had the distance. The stadium exploded, and the game was brand new again.
Baty would walk and Semien fouled out to send the game to extras, but the Mets were given a chance.
The Mets brought in Devin Williams to attempt to keep the game tied with McMahon as the Manfred Man on second base. Schuemann was first up, and after failing to bunt the ball, struck out on a fantastic Airbender. With the Mets paying him no attention, McMahon stole third without a throw to put the go-ahead run on third with less than two outs. Volpe was up next and he walked, which led to a meeting at the mound with manager Carlos Mendoza. On the first pitch, Wells grounded into a 3-6-3 double play to end the threat.
Tim Hill came up to start the bottom of the tenth. Semien was the free runner at second, and Ewing led off the 10th, laying down a perfect bunt—the first of his professional career!—and pushed the winning run 90 feet away. Torrens was next up, and the Yankees brought a fifth outfielder in, leaving left field totally vacated. Torrens got nicked by the ball on the elbow pad, moving him to first base and bringing up Benge. The five man infield continued, with right field now wide open. Benge hit a weak ball over the mound and two Yankees collided, not able to make the play and allowing Semien to score the winning run.
The Mets had not won a game they trailed after eight inning in nearly two years, going 0-91 when trailing that late. They did it this afternoont, taking the home half of the Subway Series. This team has looked like a totally different club as of late, fighting back and not giving up.
Is this…is this hope?
The Mets travel to DC to face the Nationals for a four game series. Christian Scott will face Jake Irvin tomorrow evening.
Title inspiration found here.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
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Big Mets winner: A.J. Ewing, +32.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Sean Manaea, -32.0%WPA
Mets pitchers: -19.0% WPA
Mets hitters: 69% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Tyrone Taylor’s three run dinger, +48.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Anthony Volpe’s two-run single, -19.9% WPA
