Mets, Led By Lindor, Sweep Subway Series In Style

 

Francisco Lindor rounding third base on his fifth-inning home run, as Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole looks on from by the mound. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets completed their sweep of the Subway Series over the Yankees on Wednesday night in emphatic fashion with a 12-3 win at Yankee Stadium, as Francisco Lindor led the way with a pair of home runs.

This is the first time the Mets swept all four games against the Bronx Bombers since 2013, as they also won the first two the teams played at Citi Field in late June.

In order to complete this rare feat, the Mets would have to beat the pitcher they did in their first meeting of the season: Yankees ace and defending American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.

The Yankees jumped out to a quick lead, as Gleyber Torres, in a rare appearance in the leadoff spot, lined one into the left field seats for a solo shot off Mets starter Sean Manaea to open the bottom of the first.

Cole responded by retiring the first eight Mets he would face - until Tyrone Taylor hit a solo shot into the left field seats to tie it.

That wouldn't last long, as Juan Soto hit a majestic shot into netting in center field to put the Yankees back ahead, 2-1, in the bottom of the third. It was the Yankees' right fielder's 26th home run of the season, to go along with 72 RBI.

The Taylor home run would open the floodgates, as Pete Alonso crushed a two-run homer - the 20th of the season for #20 - to left field in the top of the fourth.

Pete Alonso about to touch the plate after hitting his home run in the fourth inning, as Gerrit Cole refocuses at the mound. Photo by Jason Schott.

Then, in the fifth, Francisco Lindor crushed one into the second deck just inside the foul poul for a two-run shot of his own, also his 20th of the season, and the Mets were now up, 5-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, after opening the inning with a pair of strikeouts, Manaea walked Soto, hit Aaron Judge with a pitch, and walked Austin Wells before he was lifted.

In came Brooklyn native and ex-Yankee Adam Ottavino out of the Mets bullpen, and he provided the moment of the night, as he got Anthony Volpe to bounce into a force out to get out the bases-loaded jam.

With Cole still out there for the Yankees, the suddenly hot Jeff McNeil, who took one to the fence in the second inning, laced a double down the right field line, and came in to score on a single by Taylor to make it 6-2 Mets.

That would chase Cole from the game, and his final line was: 5 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 3 home runs. This was the second time he would allow six earned runs this season, with the first coming against the Mets on June 25.

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said of Cole's performance, "I thought stuff-wise and fastball profile, good, you know, they hit a couple cutters out against him; that's been such a good pitch for him. Taylor got a fastball up and out of the zone that, you know, pretty good swing on that pitch with two strikes, but got hurt with the cutter a few times. You know, I felt like, didn't quite get to the secondary and getting that swing-and-miss, opportunities where he normally finishes a guy off, you know, they hurt him a little bit, so obviously a tough night for us."

Left-hander Tim Hill would relieve him, and he got Lindor to fly out to right field to end the sixth before retiring the Mets in order in the seventh.

In the eighth, Vientos broke that streak by crushing a home run to left field to open the frame, and then McNeil laced another double, this one to center field, to chase Hill from the game.

The Yankees went to another lefty, Caleb Ferguson, and Jose Iglesias greeted him with a single.

Francisco Alvarez then struck out looking, and Ferguson then got Taylor to bounce one to Orlando Cabrera at third base. He threw home to try to nab McNeil at the plate, but the throw was too high and away so Wells could not get the tag down in time. Cabrera was called for an error, and McNeil would score to make it 8-2 Mets.

Lindor was up next, and he crushed one into the Mets bullpen in left-center for a three-run shot, his second of the night, to make it 11-2. This was Lindor's second two-home run game in three days, as he also did it on Monday night in Miami, and third of the season, with the first coming on April 24 in San Francisco. 

Francisco Lindor getting a hug from Brandon Nimmo after hitting his three-run homer in the eighth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

It's the first time this season Lindor had five RBI, giving him 60 on the season. With 21 home runs, this markes the seventh straight 162-game campaign he has hit at least 20 in a season. He is now just one of three players to have 20-plus home runs in seven-or-more seasons since 2017, along with the Yankees' Aaron Judge and his old Cleveland teammate, Jose Ramirez.

Ferguson then walked Brandon Nimmo before he was lifted for Yoendrys Gomez. 

J.D. Martinez greeted him with a double, Alonso walked to load the bases, and Vientos got a sacrifice fly for his second RBI of the inning and that made it 12-2 Mets.

The six-run inning matched a season-high for the Mets, done three other times, most recently on July 1, when they did it in the 10th inning of a win in Washington.

Ottavino earned the win, with the only out he recorded being that crucial one in the fifth, and he is now 2-2 on the season. Cole took the loss, and he is now 3-2, with both losses to the Mets, and a 5.40 ERA (earned run average), which is still high since this was just his seventh start of the season after he missed nearly the first three months due to an elbow injury.

The Mets notched eight extra-base hits in this one, the most in nearly a year, since July 25, 2023, also at Yankee Stadium.

This was the second time this season they hit five home runs, with the first instance on July 12 against Colorado. It is the most they have hit against the Yankees since they also hit five on August 13, 2018 at Yankee Stadium.

This is the first time the Mets have won the Subway Series since 2021, when they took four of the six games the teams played. Next season, the Subway Series will also feature six games, with three in each ballpark.

The Mets improved to 53-48 on the season, as they are 11-4 in their last 15 games, 17-9 in their last 26 (going back to June 23), and 29-13 since June 3, when their ascent into a Wild Card spot began. They are 27-22 on the road this season, and 16-8 in their last 24 on the road, going back to June 3.

The Yankees completed a homestand in which they dropped four out of six games, as it opened with a split of a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. They are now 60-44, having now lost 22 of their last 32 games dating back to June 15. They are 1 1/2 games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles (60-41) in the American League East, and they hold the top Wild Card spot, 3 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins (56-45).

Boone was asked what has to change immediately, "Nobody has higher expectations than us in that freakin' room, and we understand that, we're pissed off, we've got to play better. You know, this has gone on long enough, and you know, it's very frustrating to go through, but I also know we're competing our asses off, and we've just got to make sure we continue to walk in with the right level of edge and  willingness to compete because no one's going to pull us out of this but us.

"You know, over this stretch, the long ball's obviously hurt us on the defensive side of things, and you know, there's been games where we've had some opportunities, tonight included. You know, we had a few really good chances to score and grab a lead or take the lead, you know, weren't able to do it, so, I mean, simple as that. When you're giving up some runs, we've got to make sure we capitalize on the opportunities that we have. Also, you know, slug with runners on, but it's just, we've got to focus on at-bat quality, taking care of the ball on defense, and then just getting the ball to better places more consistently on the mound, and we have everyone in there to do that. We've done it for an extended stretch, and right now, we're getting our teeth kicked in, and we've got to change it."