The Mets have owned the Yankees ace, which is fitting: They own the team he plays for and suddenly New York City, too.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor watches his two-run home run against the Yankees in the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium on July 24. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
For the first time since 2013, back when Anthony Volpe was 12 and Francisco Alvarez 11, the Mets came face-to-face with their crosstown rivals and did not blink once.
For a second time in their franchise history, the Mets swept the season series, finishing off their fourth matchup with the Yankees with a thorough and humiliating 12-3 destruction in front of 48,760 either exasperated or exultant fans in The Bronx.
“The atmosphere here is unreal,” said Tyrone Taylor, whose third-inning home run got the party started. “This is only my second Subway Series … that was epic. Shout-out to New York City for that.”
What Carlos Mendoza’s group has done has been clinical:
Gerrit Cole (L) and New York Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera (R) react before being taken out of the game on July 24. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Knowing the Yankees offense’s weaknesses, the Mets started four southpaws (Sean Manaea twice, Jose Quintana and David Peterson), who combined to allow four runs.
Knowing how thin the lineup is behind Aaron Judge, the Mets watched the Yankees captain come to bat nine times in the two-game set and walked or hit him five times, refusing to allow No. 99 to beat them. If Judge (or Juan Soto) was not going to beat the Mets, then the Yankees weren’t going to beat the Mets.
Ben Rice walks off the field dejectedly while Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (left) and third baseman Mark Vientos (right) celebrate their team’s win. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
A pitching staff that generally has been the lesser of the team’s problems could not keep the Mets in the yard, serving up five home runs Wednesday;
The few opportunities that were manufactured in a mostly two-man lineup were wasted;
The defense folded in a six-run eighth inning that included several misplays that opened the floodgates.
Francisco Lindor gestures to the dugout after hitting his second homer of the game in the eight inning of the Mets’ blowout win. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“Nobody has higher expectations than us in that frickin’ room,” Boone said. “We’re pissed off. We want to play better. This has gone on long enough.”
In the four showdowns this season, the Mets hammered the Yankees, 36-13.
The past two days, the Mets beat the Yankees’ first-half ace in Luis Gil and longtime ace in Cole, who allowed six runs in 5 ²/₃ innings in his second dud against the city rivals.
The Mets celebrate a home run with the OMG sign on July 24. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The rise continues for the Mets (53-48), who reached five games over .500 for the first time since April 23, 2023.
The plunge continues for the Yankees (60-44), who have dropped 22 of their past 32 and continue to search for a third offensive threat and any meaningful hit.
In the two-game set, the Yankees went 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position, Soto and Judge often mounting threats that the middle of the order bungled.
Wednesday, three times the Yankees came up with significant threats that the Mets extinguished.
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso hits a two-run homer off of Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole in the fourth inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Once the black hole that is DJ LeMahieu meekly grounded out; once Adam Ottavino induced a bases-loaded ground out from Volpe; and after a leadoff Soto double in the seventh, new Met Alex Young retired Judge, Wells and Volpe in order.
“We’re a really good team that has played s—ty of late,” Boone said. “We need to be better.”
Both teams might have been screaming “Oh My God,” but for different reasons. The Yankees’ frustration became Mets jubilation in a game in which Luis Severino and his “OMG” sign were busy.
The Yankees twice had a lead — 1-0 and 2-1 — before Mets bombs erased them.
Pete Alonso’s two-run shot in the fourth began a run of 11 runs unanswered.
Lindor’s first of the night, a two-run crack to right, gained separation. Mark Vientos and Lindor again smacked dingers in an eighth inning in which the Mets sent 11 men to the plate.
“We’re just happy to win games. It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side,” Lindor said after homering from both sides of the plate. “Good that we’ve won three games in a row.
“The atmosphere was fantastic.”
Less so for the home team.
“Any loss matters to us,” Soto said. “It’s tough to lose. It can be them, it can be whoever. We don’t want to lose to anybody.”
On a lot of nights, the Yankees would have been booed off the field.
By the end of this night, sporadic chants and cheers from Mets fans were heard.
Most of the fans in pinstriped jerseys already had left.
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