Poor clutch hitting, poor defense sees Subway Series end with a loss

Well, none of that was pretty, from either the Mets or the Yankees point of view. Regardless of aesthetics, the Yankees beat the Mets 4-2, putting the finishing touches on the 2022 Subway Series in which the home team won every game.

The Mets had their fair share of chances despite looking like a team that needs an off day like any baseball team has needed an off day before. They consistently threatened the Yankees pitching, whether it be starting pitcher Frankie Montas or Clarke Schmidt, who threw a rare three inning save in a competitive game. They had runners in scoring position in what felt like every inning, including loading the bases in the ninth with two away.

Their first run was a perfect microcosm for this game. Starling Marte stroked a two out pitch into right field with runners on second and third, but an awful send by third base coach Joey Cora saw Brett Baty get thrown out at home with ease. Their second run was, well, given to them by the Yankees. Jeff McNeil split the right center field gap, and it looked like Pete Alonso would score from first with ease. However, he stumbled around the third base bag, held up, which forced McNeil — who was headed to third as he should have — to be caught in no man’s land. McNeil scampered back to second, which was unoccupied, but Gleyber Torres tried to beat him to the bag instead of throwing Alonso out at home.

It was an ugly game.

Taijuan Walker, who got the nod after his Sunday start got pushed back, threw three perfect innings before succumbing to Aaron Judge, surrendering a solo shot in the fourth. He ended up loading the bases and walking in a run before cauterizing the wound.

Their third and fourth runs came in the seventh, off Joely Rodriguez and Adam Ottavino. The inning involved a single in which Alonso did his best Luis Castillo impression, allowing a single to drop on a routine fly ball before back to back singles put the Yankees ahead for good.

Box scores

MLB
ESPN

Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Jeff McNeil, 17.3% WPA
Big Mets loser: Daniel Vogelbach, -30.6% WPA
Mets pitchers: -21.9% WPA
Mets hitters: -28.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil’s RBI double in the sixth, +19.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Aaron Judge’s fourth inning solo home run, -14.6% WPA

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