NEW YORK — A dropped fly ball. A wild pitch that turned into a two-run gift. A bases-loaded jam the Yankees could not escape. Three former pinstripes doing the damage.
The Mets beat the Yankees 6-3 Saturday night at Citi Field to even the Subway Series at one game apiece. The Yankees went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. They had the game in their hands in the seventh inning and came away with nothing.
It was the sixth Yankees loss in eight games. The road trip through Milwaukee, Baltimore and Flushing has been a slow bleed.
Rodon’s wild pitch opens the door in the third
The Yankees trailed 1-0 when Carlos Rodon handed the Mets a two-run lead in the third inning in the most avoidable way possible.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Rodon fired a fastball that sailed over the catcher and struck the brick backstop behind home plate. Rodon barehanded the rebound and fired toward the plate. The throw went wild. Carson Benge and Bo Bichette both scored. Mets 3-1.
Rodon was direct about the sequence.
“I was trying to give a good fastball in the zone,” Rodon said. “And, I mean, I threw it above the umpire. I hit the bull back there.”
He was equally blunt about his decision to throw home rather than hold.
“Stupid play,” Rodon said. “I tried to make a superhero play. That’s one I’ve got to eat. I got a little ambitious with that throw.”
Baty added a run-scoring double in the fourth that chased Rodon. Final Yankees line on the starter: 88 pitches, 3 2/3 innings, three hits, three walks, six strikeouts, three runs (two earned.
Rodon summed up his first two starts back from offseason elbow surgery in plain terms. “They didn’t go well at all.”
Boone acknowledged the pattern of damage while trying to find the bright spots.
“Both of the innings where he gets dinged there, it’s two outs and nobody on, and then some long at-bats,” Boone said. “There’s some really encouraging signs. We’ve got to dial in the command now.”
Vientos, Soto and former Yankees drive the Mets offense
In the fifth with the Mets leading 3-2, the Yankees brought in left-hander Brent Headrick to face Juan Soto. Vientos, who hits lefties well, was next.
Headrick threw sinker after sinker trying to get Soto to ground into a double play. Soto walked instead. Vientos then ripped an 0-1 splitter into the left field corner, scoring two. Mets 5-2.
Vientos spoke about the benefit of hitting behind Soto and what it does to opposing pitchers.
“I think I do get pitched differently with Juan in front of me,” Vientos said. “It’s also fun to be up close and see him do his thing. He’s been doing a heck of a job.”
Vientos finished with three RBI. His 14 RBI in May rank tied for third in the NL.
Soto was the architect all night. He reached base all four times. He drew three walks and singled. He stole two bases and scored once. Every Yankees pitching decision in the latter innings was shaped by the need to avoid him. He received an extended ovation from the Yankees fans in the crowd each time he came to the plate.
Paul Goldschmidt answered with an RBI single to cut it to 5-2. The Yankees never got closer.
Weaver strands bases loaded, no outs in the seventh
The Yankees got the break they needed in the seventh inning. They could not use it.
Aaron Judge doubled to lead off. Carson Benge then dropped a routine fly ball off Cody Bellinger’s bat, letting Judge score and putting runners on first and third with no outs. Brooks Raley hit Paul Goldschmidt. Jazz Chisholm popped a bunt over the mound that landed for an infield hit. Bases loaded. No outs.
Out came Luke Weaver. He spent 2024 as a key Yankees bullpen piece before signing with the Mets for two years and $22 million when the Yankees showed little interest in retaining him.
Weaver struck out Rosario, then Grisham, then got Volpe to hit a ground ball. No runs scored. Mets win probability climbed from 54 percent to 97 percent on his watch. He returned for a scoreless eighth.
Devin Williams handled the ninth. The right-hander spent last season in the Bronx as part of the Yankees bullpen after coming over from Milwaukee. He retired the Yankees in order to secure his sixth save of the season. The Yankees lineup, already 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position, had nothing left for their former closer.
Weaver addressed what it meant to come through against his former team in that moment.
“It’s a cool moment,” Weaver said. “That’s why you play the game.”
“The moment gets big. You try to find a way to channel it, not panic, not get stressed out,” Weaver added. “Just sticking with the routine, just trusting that each pitch is going to work. Sometimes, it does.”
Volpe acknowledged the Yankees had the moment they wanted and could not deliver.
“Yeah, he executed,” Volpe said of Weaver.
Yankees left 11 runners on base and went 3-for-15 with RISP
The numbers from the Yankees’ night told the story cleanly. Eleven runners left on base. Three hits in 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Boone returned to the seventh inning when asked to identify the turning point.
“We had a chance to take it right there,” Boone said. “And we just couldn’t break through.”
Chisholm addressed the broader road trip slump and how the Yankees are processing it.
“We’re not panicking,” Chisholm said. “We’re out here, just working and grinding and pushing through it. We all know we have some dry spots here and there, but we’ll just work through it and keep pushing to get back in that groove.”
The Yankees dropped to 28-18. They have lost six of eight since their road trip began. The Subway Series finale is Sunday at Citi Field.
Who is the most to blame for this Yankees loss?
