A wild back-and-forth affair in front of a sold-out Citi Field crowd tied the Subway Series at one win apiece.
All of the Yankees’ offensive production arrived in a rush – they put up a five-spot in the second inning – then their bats went silent until the eighth. Aaron Judge delivered the key blow with a game-tying two-run moonshot off Trevor May, who generously left an 86-mph changeup at the top of the zone for the Yankees slugger to demolish.
The Yankees finished the four-hour marathon with an 8-7 win over the Mets on Saturday night. The Bombers snapped their seven-game losing streak after an emotional pregame ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“New York and this city, they got my heart and my soul,” Judge said. “When we took that field, hearing the crowd chant, seeing all of the fans on their feet — even if it was Mets fans or Yankees fans — it was something special tonight. It was more than a game. We wanted to put on a show for these fans. I know a lot of us will remember this.”
Aroldis Chapman, albeit not so cleanly, shut the door on the Amazin’s with his 26th save of the year. The Mets made it hard on Chapman when J.D. Davis lined a pinch-hit ground-rule double to right field in the ninth, representing the tying run. But the Yankees closer retired Kevin Pillar and James McCann, who already had his would-be hero moment in the sixth, to seal the club’s big victory.
“We’re the same team that won 11 in a row,” Brett Gardner said. “Not a lot has changed since then.”
With the Mets trailing the Yankees by one run in the bottom of the sixth inning, McCann did his best Mike Piazza impression by launching a go-ahead, two-run home run to give the Mets a one-run lead. The Mets impressed, clawing back from a five-run deficit to take the lead, but the glory only lasted so long. McCann said he felt an added significance to Saturday’s game in part because of the “playoff-type atmosphere.”
“The thing that kept getting me was the number of U-S-A chants,” McCann said. “That was pretty special. Just talking about it gives me chills.”
In the top of the eighth inning, Judge clobbered his second home run of the game, a towering two-run shot to left field, that tied the game at 7-7. Judge’s 32nd homer of the season set the stage for the Yankees to take the lead in the same inning. May was pulled from his relief appearance after facing the minimum three batters, and postgame he called his outing “the worst all year.” May said he could feel how this loss was “more emotionally charged than others.”
One night after the Bronx Bombers made sloppy mistakes on the field, the Mets caught the poor defensive bug. Francisco Lindor couldn’t corral a hard-hit liner off the bat of Gleyber Torres, then Javier Baez airmailed a routine throw to first base. Baez’s error allowed the Yankees’ go-ahead run to score on what should’ve been an inning-ending double play.
Taijuan Walker gave up three home runs in the second inning – two-run shots to both Kyle Higashioka and Brett Gardner and a solo long ball to Judge. Walker has surrendered at least one home run in eight of his last 10 starts since the All-Star break for a total of 16 dingers in that span. Jonathan Villar approached Walker on the mound that inning to tell him he was typing his pitches.
Walker settled down after that trio of tanks, retiring 13 straight batters, including seven strikeouts in that stretch. The Yankees went 0-for-16 at the plate after Judge’s second-inning homer. Brett Gardner finally broke the spell with a single to lead off the eighth.
The Mets returned the favor and hammered Corey Kluber for four runs, knocking the right-hander from his start after just four innings. Kluber has given up 11 earned runs in three starts and 11.2 innings since coming off the injured list.
“I believe in this team, I believe in this group,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “It’s been ugly at times, but I don’t think this group will ever lose confidence in what we’re doing when we’re at our best.”
