NEW YORK The Mets defeated the Yankees 12-3 on Wednesday night in the Bronx to cap off a season sweep—only their second in 28 attempts. The Mets outscored the Yankees by 22 runs in their four meetings with the franchise, which is the second-largest run differential in Subway Series history. (Although they did so over six games rather than four, the 2009 Yankees outscored the Mets by 27.)
“We played well,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not an easy ballpark to come in and take two games. It says a lot about this group.”
Just in front of a four-game series against their rivals at Citi Field, the Mets have closed the gap on Atlanta for the top wild card spot in the National League to just 1 1/2 games.
Here are four takeaways from a Subway Series sweep:
Mets keep mashing homers
Tyrone Taylor, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, and Francisco Lindor each hit one of the five home runs that the Mets hit on Wednesday night. Since the end of May, only the Orioles and the Mets have hit more long balls.
NYM 12
NYY 3
FinalThe Mets sweep the season series from the Yankees, outscoring them by 22 runs in the process.
The Mets are 53-48, a season-high five games clear of .500.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) July 25, 2024
Lindor is tied for fourth in MLB with 13 home runs since May 30. With 21 home runs, the shortstop passed Alonso for the team lead and is currently on track to reach 33, which would be his highest total since he hit 38 in 2018.
It was only Alonso’s third home run of the month. With seven hits and three extra-base hits in the previous five games, the first baseman appears to be on the rise.
“He’ll do what Pete does,” said Lindor. “He’ll end up with 35 or 40 home runs.”
All evening, Taylor, filling in for an injured Harrison Bader, was a driving force. After Gerrit Cole had retired the first eight Mets, he hit a single home run in the third inning. His leadoff single in the fifth inning came before Lindor’s two-run home run, and another run was scored with a single in the sixth. In shallow center, he also made an incredible sliding catch to deny Alex Verdugo a hit.
Taylor had a strong start to the season in April, but by late in the month, his OPS was below.600 and he was hitting under.200. Due to Starling Marte’s injury, he has played more recently. On Wednesday, he was in center because Bader had injured his ankle the previous evening. Bader, according to Mendoza, is day-to-day. His offensive contributions would stretch New York’s lineup even farther.
“We know he’s a really good player,” Mendoza said. “It was good to see him have that type of game.”
Mets have Gerrit Cole’s number
This season, Cole has made two starts against the Mets and has given up 12 runs in 9 2/3 innings. The Mets blasted three additional home runs on Wednesday night after hitting Cole for four last month. Since the completion of the 2022 season, Cole has not given up more than two home runs in any other start.
In Cole’s four career starts against the Mets, the Yankees are 0–4 and have given up at least nine runs in three of the four contests. Against the Mets, Cole has a lifetime ERA of 6.99, including an 8.05 record when playing with the Yankees.
“He’s a really good pitcher. We were just ready to go,” said Mendoza.
“The times he didn’t execute,” Lindor said, “we made him pay.”
Bullpen looked good — without 2 top guys
The Mets bullpen allowed just two runs over 8 1/3 innings in their two victories over the Yankees this week, despite neither José Buttó nor Edwin Díaz playing. Yes, given his precise assessment of the Yankees’ lack of quality hitters—just two—Luis Severino might want to work as an advanced scout as well. However, given the Mets’ bullpen and their recent struggles, a successful series is deserving of recognition.
The Mets got six scoreless innings from the bunch that included Dedniel Núñez, Alex Young, Danny Young, Jake Diekman, and Phil Maton (Adam Ottavino gave up a run on Tuesday, and Adrian Houser allowed a run on Wednesday).
They are an intriguing group. Núñez, who was not even invited to big-league spring training, has developed into a late-inning reliever. Danny Young was signed to a minor league team. Diekman had not done well in high-stakes situations. Maton just came to the Mets via trade. Alex Young was recently claimed off waivers by them. However, that is the thing with bullpens sometimes—help can appear out of nowhere.
By the trade deadline of July 30, the Mets will probably have added to their bullpen, which is something they want. But they might not give up for a top rental arm. And given the position’s unpredictability and the high prospect capital cost of such a player, that might be acceptable if they choose the greatest reliever from the next-best group.
While acquiring such relievers is not always an easy task, David Stearns, the president of baseball operations for the Mets, has shown a flair for getting those things right most of the time.
With these kind of targets, the development team usually works to make it work when the scouting team finds something they truly like or can help improve with a pitcher. Tuesday, Maton looked terrific, and Alex Young got two outs on ten pitches, but Diekman got a lot of recognition that he deserved. The Mets are attempting to assist Maton in making a small grip adjustment with a sinker that he has not yet demonstrated in a game. In addition, on Wednesday at a Triple A bullpen session, Alex Young utilized his cutter just once to strike out J.D. Davis. With these acquisitions, there is constant tweaking and improvement attempts.
To strengthen their group, the Mets need to acquire better relievers, but it is also critical that they add depth in the interim.
A happier Jeff McNeil lengthens the lineup
Jeff McNeil gave up trying to aim balls for hits during batting practice in Pittsburgh during the first week of July and instead concentrated on making heavy contact. In that series, he made a lot of hard contact, including a home run off Paul Skenes. He has also made a great deal of hard contact since then.
With a home run on Tuesday and two doubles on Wednesday, McNeil continues to break out of his season-long slump (albeit Juan Soto also robbed him of at least one extra-base hit by making a catch near the wall in right field).
Due to his comeback, McNeil now goes by “Happy Jeff,” a moniker given to him by Francisco Lindor in Miami. McNeil stated that he is happy. However, keep things straight. He is pleased that he is receiving hits. The ferocity with which McNeil operates will remain unchanged; it was not a component of his shift at the plate. He believes that the intensity—mostly the rage over outs—motivates him to perform better. He claimed that this is the only manner he has ever played.
“When I am happy, I am happy,” McNeil said with a smile, “and when I am pissed off, I am pissed off.”
Lately, he’s been happy, and he’s had plenty of reasons to be.
Since May 30, McNeil has batted sixth, thus his position on the order was highest on Wednesday. McNeil went 2-for-5 with four hard-hit balls to reward the move. When McNeil is playing well, his presence extends the lineup to an incredible degree, regardless of whether he is batting sixth or somewhere between seventh and ninth.
(Photo of Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos celebrating: Brad Penner / USA Today)
