NEW YORK — The Mets punctuated a season sweep of the Yankees, just their second in 28 tries, with a 12-3 trouncing in the Bronx on Wednesday night. The Mets won all four meetings between the teams, outscoring the Yankees by 22 runs — the second-largest run differential between the two squads in Subway Series history. (The 2009 Yankees outscored the Mets by 27, albeit over six games and not four.)
“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.”
The Mets have pulled within 1 1/2 games of Atlanta for the National League’s top wild card, just ahead of a four-game series with their rivals at Citi Field.
Here are four takeaways from a Subway Series sweep:
Mets keep mashing homers
The Mets hit five home runs Wednesday night, getting two from Francisco Lindor and one apiece from Tyrone Taylor, Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos. Only the Orioles have hit more long balls since the end of May than the Mets.
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’s 13 homers since May 30 are tied for fourth in baseball. The shortstop overtook Alonso for the team lead in homers with 21 and is now on pace to hit 33 — which would be his most since he hit 38 in 2018.
Alonso’s homer was just his third of the month. The first baseman has shown signs of a turnaround lately with seven hits and three extra-base hits in the last five games.
“He’ll do what Pete does,” said Lindor. “He’ll end up with 35 or 40 home runs.”
Taylor, subbing in for a hobbled Harrison Bader, was a catalyst all night. His third-inning solo shot came after Gerrit Cole had retired the first eight Mets. His fifth-inning leadoff single preceded Lindor’s two-run blast, and a sixth-inning single drove home another run. He also made a terrific sliding catch in shallow center to take a hit away from Alex Verdugo.
Following a solid start to the season in April, Taylor was hitting under .200 with an OPS under .600 since late that month. He’s seen more action lately because of Starling Marte’s injury, and he was in center on Wednesday because Bader rolled his ankle the night before. (Mendoza said Bader is day-to-day.) Any offense he can provide lengthens the lineup even more for New York.
“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
In two starts against the Mets this season, Cole allowed 12 runs in 9 2/3 innings. After dinging Cole for four home runs last month, the Mets hit three more Wednesday night. Cole hasn’t allowed more than two homers in any other start dating to the end of the 2022 season.
The Yankees are 0-4 in Cole’s career starts against the Mets, and they’ve allowed at least nine runs in three of the four games. Cole owns a lifetime 6.99 ERA against the Mets, including an 8.05 mark while 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 two top guys
In the two wins this week against the Yankees, the Mets’ bullpen allowed just two runs over 8 1/3 innings — without José Buttó or Edwin Díaz appearing in either game. Yes, perhaps Luis Severino should double as an advanced scout after his accurate critique of the Yankees having just two good hitters. But for the Mets’ bullpen and all their woes the last couple of months, a positive series deserves acknowledgment.
From the group of Dedniel Núñez, Alex Young, Danny Young, Jake Diekman and Phil Maton, the Mets received six scoreless innings (Adam Ottavino, who recorded a big out Wednesday, gave up a run Tuesday, and Adrian Houser allowed a run Wednesday).
It’s an interesting bunch. Núñez has emerged as a late-inning reliever after not even receiving an invite to big-league spring training. Danny Young was a minor-league signing. Diekman had struggled in high-leverage spots. The Mets just traded for Maton. They just picked up Alex Young off waivers. But that’s the thing sometimes with bullpens; help can come from unexpected places.
The Mets want to add to their bullpen, and they will likely accomplish just that by the July 30 trade deadline. They may not trade for a top rental arm, however. And considering the volatility of the position and the high price of prospect capital such a player would cost, that may be OK — just as long as they pick the right reliever from the next-best group.
Acquiring such relievers is not the easiest way of doing things, but Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has demonstrated a knack for getting those right a good portion of the time.
Typically, with these kinds of targets, the scouting team sees something they either really like or can help enhance with a pitcher, and then the development team goes about helping make it work. While Diekman deservedly received a lot of acknowledgments Tuesday, Maton continued to look good and Alex Young recorded two outs on 10 pitches. With Maton, the Mets are working on helping him make a subtle grip change with a sinker that he hasn’t yet showcased in a game. And Alex Young has a cutter that he used just once during a bullpen session in Triple A to get J.D. Davis out on Wednesday. There’s always tinkering, some attempt at improvement with these acquisitions.
The Mets must land better relievers to fortify their group, but they may also build depth in the meantime, which is also important.
A happier Jeff McNeil lengthens the lineup
During batting practice in Pittsburgh in the first week of July, Jeff McNeil ditched trying to aim balls for hits in favor of focusing on making hard contact. He made a bunch of hard contact in that series, including a home run off Paul Skenes. He’s made a bunch of hard contact ever since, too.
McNeil continued to bust out of his season-long slump with a home run on Tuesday and two doubles on Wednesday (Juan Soto also made a catch at the wall in right field to rob him of at least an extra-base hit, too).
The resurgence has led to a new nickname — “Happy Jeff,” a nickname bestowed upon McNeil by Francisco Lindor in Miami. He is happier, McNeil said. But don’t get things twisted. He’s happy because he’s getting hits. McNeil will still operate with the same intensity he always has — that was not part of his change at the plate. From his perspective, the intensity (mostly the anger over outs) fuels him to do better. It’s the only way he has ever played, he said.
“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.
On Wednesday, McNeil batted sixth, the highest he has appeared in the order since batting sixth on May 30. McNeil rewarded the move by going 2-for-5 with four hard-hit balls. Whether he’s batting sixth or somewhere between seventh and ninth, McNeil’s presence lengthens the lineup to an impressive level when he’s going right.
(Photo of Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos celebrating: Brad Penner / USA Today)
