Perhaps the Yankees have succeeded in stemming the flow of blood, and they have the Mets in part to thank for this.
The Yankees defeated the Mets by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday in front of another sellout crowd of 49,217 fans in The Bronx, completing their three-game sweep of the Mets and winning their third consecutive game overall.
And there was plenty of drama leading up to it as well, as Wandy Peralta ended it by getting Francisco Lindor to fly out to center with the bases loaded.
“It’s been a tough stretch and these wins can go a long way for us to get our swagger back,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after his team maintained its eight-game lead over Tampa Bay in the American League East, whereas the Mets saw their lead over Atlanta in the National League East shrink to two games after their loss.
When there were two outs in the ninth inning and the Mets were trailing by two runs, pinch-hitter Tyler Naquin took a walk against Clarke Schmidt, who had just come out of the bullpen and tossed three innings in which there were no runs scored.
After that, Brandon Nimmo reached on an infield single, and Starling Marte walked, which allowed for the bases to be loaded and ultimately resulted in Schmidt being removed from the game.
After Peralta entered the game, Lindor nearly knotted the score with a liner to left field, but the ball went out of play.
After that, Lindor hit a fly ball to the center of the field.
Peralta, speaking via an interpreter, was overheard saying, “I realize the game was on the line, and I’ve just had to execute.”
Schmidt expressed his frustration more directly, saying, “Wandy came in and saved my ass.”
The teams’ desire for more was fueled by the series, which took place in front of two enthusiastic fans.
Aaron Judge, who recently hit his 48th home run, was asked whether an October Subway Series was on his mind. He responded by saying, “I think about it because that’s as near to a playoff atmosphere as you’re going to get.” “Both of these may be seen at Citi Field. You take a look ahead at the pace that they are going at as well as the pace that we are going at. But the first thing we have to do is get there.
The run-scoring single that Andrew Benintendi hit for the Yankees in the seventh inning gave them the lead.
Oswaldo Cabrera started the bottom of the seventh inning with a single up the middle, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa bunted him over to second base after the Mets had tied the game in the top of the sixth inning.
Pete Alonso made an error that resulted in a single, which was hit by pinch-hitter Jose Trevino. The ball was hit down the right-field line.
After that, Benintendi hit a single to left field, putting the Yankees back in the lead, and Judge hit an RBI single with two outs, extending their lead to 4-2.
To start the eighth inning, Schmidt issued a walk to Lindor and allowed Alonso to reach base safely on a single, but he was able to force Daniel Vogelbach to ground into a double play. After Lindor had advanced to third, Jeff McNeil hit a line drive to the right.
The Yankees finally got to Mets right-hander Taijuan Walker in the fourth inning after the Mets right-hander retired the first nine batters he faced in his first start since leaving his previous outing in Atlanta on August 16 due to back spasms. Frankie Montas had his best start as a Yankee, giving up two runs in five and a half and a third innings while striking out five and walking two.
Montas pitched his way out of trouble twice in the second inning, the first time with the assistance of a wonderful double play that was turned by Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres. Montas threw 27 pitches in the first inning and did not allow a run to score.
After that, Montas got eight consecutive outs by retirement, including five strikeouts in a row.
After DJ LeMahieu grounded into a double play in the fourth inning, Judge hit a 3-2 pitch high into the left-field bleachers with a shot that traveled 453 feet and 115 mph, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
Cabrera took a walk to put runners on first and second, extending the lead to 2-0.
After Brett Baty reached base due to catcher’s interference in the fifth inning, Mark Canha hit a double to the wall in right-center and Tomas Nido bunted both runners over so the top of the order could bat.
Canha would have scored had it not been for Marte’s single to right field with two outs, but Cabrera, who was playing just his second game in right field, moved Baty to third and threw him out at home to maintain the Yankees’ one-run lead, which was also preserved by a solid tag by Kyle Higashioka.
In the sixth inning, a wild play by the Mets knotted the game. McNeil hit a double to the right-center field as Alonso was on first. Alonso could have easily scored, but he fumbled around third base and stopped in the middle of the path between the third and home. In the play, McNeil was also caught between second and third, but because of the commotion from the crowd, Torres was unable to tell that Alonso had fallen, thus he did not throw McNeil home.
Instead, he challenged McNeil to a sprint for second place, but McNeil came out on top, which opened the door for Alonso to score.