NEW YORK — Justin Verlander knew first-hand how difficult facing Gerrit Cole would be in this first Subway Series finale. They’re not just former Astros teammates, they’re also still good friends. Despite the aces’ close relationship, their uber-competitive attitudes were expected to take over. That didn’t stop Verlander from giving his buddy a small recognition before their pitching duel lived up to the hype.
“It was funny,” Verlander said. “We were talking about it a while ago, and he was like, ‘Alright, so when does this radio silence happen?’ We’re both very focused and take our jobs extremely seriously. Even though we’re friends, the second we walk on those white lines, we know what it’s all about. It’s about our business and trying to win a baseball game.
“I gave him a little hat tip before the game when we were warming up, just out of respect. I’ve enjoyed watching Gerrit from afar. It was fun pitching against him.”
It was quite the spectacle to watch, too, as the Mets walked it off for a 4-3 win over the Yankees on Wednesday night at Citi Field to split the Subway Series. The Mets and Yankees next meet on July 25 at Yankee Stadium.
In front of 44,121 fans (the fifth-largest regular-season crowd in Citi Field history), Cole continued his terrific campaign (2.75 ERA in 15 starts) and Verlander bounced back from his most recent uneven outing. It was evident these two were cut from the same cloth, as they each grinded through challenging at-bats and high pitch counts to complete six innings of one-run ball. Cole has allowed one or zero runs in seven starts this season, tied for third-most in the majors. His seven games with eight or more strikeouts are the fifth-most in MLB.
Though most were expecting a pitching duel between two of the best starters in baseball, no one could’ve predicted the twists and turns and wild finish of this year’s first Subway Series.
After Cole and Verlander kept their respective clubs in the game, the Mets overcame multiple mental mistakes to walk it off in the 10th inning. The game-winning hit appropriately came off the bat of Brandon Nimmo, who laced a double to right field off Yankees southpaw Nick Ramirez to score the hustling Eduardo Escobar from second. The Mets engulfed Nimmo near third base in a celebration that involved an ice bucket, sprayed packets of gum, and plenty of smiles to go around.
“This is definitely the brightest light, especially in a regular-season game,” said Verlander, who now has a 1.90 ERA over his past seven regular-season starts against the Yankees. “Especially for our team, every win matters. We gotta start winning some baseball games.”
That is the hope for these Mets, an especially inconsistent team that has yet to go on a sustained winning streak. Though win-starved, the Amazins showed resilience against their crosstown rivals that could finally be the turning point of their season. But, in order to cement that aspiration, the Mets must eliminate their recent sloppy play and get back to the cleaner version of themselves from last year.
“That was a crazy game,” Mets owner Steve Cohen tweeted. “Too many mental mistakes but I will take it.”
Brandon Nimmo crushes walk-off double to give Mets 4-3 win vs. Yankees
The Yankees pounced on the opportunity to capitalize on mistakes and exposed Buck Showalter’s Mets in the seventh inning.
Following a ground ball from the darting Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Francisco Lindor tossed to Jeff McNeil for the second out of the inning. But McNeil, rather than recognizing his throw was never going to beat Kiner-Falefa to first, decided to fling the ball — wide — anyway and earned his third error of the season when the ball went past rookie first baseman Mark Vientos.
Ah, but Kiner-Falefa’s fun was just beginning. In a trip around the bases for the ages, and all while Billy McKinney was at the plate, Kiner-Falefa stole second base, then advanced to third on catcher Francisco Álvarez’s throwing error to second. Just as Mets reliever Brooks Raley was about to throw his third pitch to McKinney, Kiner-Falefa took off from third and stole home to extend the Yankees’ lead to 3-1.
Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the six players to steal home this season
Nimmo commenced the Mets’ comeback in the bottom half of the seventh with a run-scoring hit by pitch, only to commit a critical baserunning mistake soon after that cut the rally short. This, of course, was on the heels of his missed catch Tuesday that aided a Yankees win.
In Nimmo’s 10th inning at-bat Wednesday, he was eager to absolve himself from those costly blunders.
“Baseball’s funny like that,” he said. “You can’t get down on yourself. You have to come back the next day and, you know that old Ted Lasso thing, you gotta be a goldfish. You have to have a short-term memory. I was able to come through for the boys and I was really happy about that because last night I felt like I let them down.”
As the Aaron Judge-less Yankees (39-30) suffered their fourth walk-off loss of the season and their fifth in extra innings, the Mets (32-26) were just relieved to win a game. They have a long road to go before fans start believing again, but they took a much-needed step in that direction by taking down their city counterpart and ending a two-week run of series defeats.
“Every win,” Lindor contended afterward, “I’m sure from now on is going to feel that way.”
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three-and-a-half seasons as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. She never misses a Rafael Nadal match, no matter what country or time zone he’s playing in. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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