NEW YORK – While this Mets are undoubtedly different from their predecessors, with more realistic post-season aspirations, it can be difficult to disperse the fog of past seasons. So when the Yankees stormed into Citi Field on Tuesday and immediately hit a crawler over a fence, the Bronx’s part of the all-sold-out crowd showed their confidence.
He was boisterous and hostile, until the Mets did something they had done infrequently over the decades-long run of this rivalry: They beat them up.
Four of the top six hitters hit extra base hits at the bottom of the first inning, including Homer’s solo from Starling Mart And two-stage shooting Eduardo Escobar. The resulting lead was maintained through the middle innings and into the match’s end, when Edwin Diaz netted the final four goals of the match. 6-3 win over the Yankees.
“I’ve never played a major league playoff before”, first base player Alonso’s house He said, “But if I had to guess, that’s what it would be like.”
As night approached, such an atmosphere was exactly what the Mets hoped to create in their area. Since 1997, fans have been spinning the Subway series on their calendars, selling out pitches in the Bronx and Queens. However, in most years those matches offered nothing but bragging rights. The Mets and Yankees have rarely entered the Subway series with playoff aspirations.
This year promised to be different, as it was the first time each of the Pinborough competitors had started the Subway Series with a top spot on their own. It was always going to be noisy. It was always a big deal to the 42,364 fans who thronged Citifield, and to the other fans who watched on TV. When Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo came into the first half of Taijuan Walker, it always seemed like the Yankees were bullying their little brother again.
Only this time, little brother would have none of it. After Brandon Nemo opened the bottom of the first half with a nine-pound header against Yankees player Jordan Montgomery, Mart transformed both atmosphere and perspective. Next, Francisco Lindor and Alonso, who followed suit in back-to-back pairings, were to put Escobar’s green light on the left fence.
At that point, half of the crowd calmed down. catch the other half
“It was honestly like racing the world championships at home,” said Escobar, a 12-year-old veteran with several post-season appearances. “I’ve never played in an environment like this before.”
From there, manager Buck Showalter managed the same way he managed in a playoff. After Walker recovered to take the Mets through six innings, Showalter asked Adam Ottavino for five rounds. He turned from there to Diaz for the last four match, which his closest scored exclusively via strike. (Diaz scored 27 of his 36 posts this way.
“They played better than us tonight,” Yankees’ Isaiah Keener-Valeva said.
At the post-game club, the Mets players didn’t bother to downplay the match, knowing it was a good test for them. More than 60 members of the media crowded into the room before the match, turning even routine tasks into an obstacle course. Mets great Daryl Strawberry threw a ceremonial first pitch. Even at that early hour, the stands were almost full with fans, who, in Marty’s words, “really brought this night in.”
When asked about the significance of the series, Alonso realistically explained that the Yankees are “the best team in MLS,” adding that if the Mets can beat teams like this, “we’ll end up where we want to be.”
Tuesday proved that the Mets are indeed capable of doing so, if there is still any doubt. Early helplessness will never change their confidence, nor dispel the idea that the child’s brother has come to fight.
“It’s like I said to the players in the advanced meeting: I said they should enjoy playing in this environment and have fun, and get something out of it,” Showalter said. “We’ll be able to come back to it as we go forward.”
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