Juan Soto, Jeff McNeil Power Mets Over Yankees
Juan Soto’s second Subway Series as a Met started off a lot better than the first. The slugger went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, and Jeff McNeil hit a go-ahead, two-run shot in the seventh inning to lift the Mets to a 6-5 victory in the opener of a three-game set against the Yankees at Citi Field.
Jeff McNeil (1) Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The Mets’ ever-thinning pitching staff bent, but didn’t break. Justin Hagenman, making his first major league start, gave up three solo homers, including back-to-back dingers to lead off the game by Jasson Domínguez and Aaron Judge. However, he was able to go 4 1/3 innings and pass the baton to Austin Warren, who gave up a second homer to Domínguez, a two-run blast that broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning.
Hagenman may not have been starting if it weren’t for injuries to Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning, Paul Blackburn and Sean Manaea. José Buttó, a reliever but the point still stands, was placed on the injured list because of an illness on Friday.
Brett Baty’s solo shot brought the Mets within 5-4 in the sixth before McNeil’s ninth homer of the season put the Mets ahead for good.
Huascar Brazobán pitched a scoreless seventh and Reed Garrett finished it off with a two-inning save. He was aided by a great defensive play from McNeil at second base, who made a diving stop in the hole and threw out DJ LeMahieu for the penultimate out of the ninth inning.
Hagenman became the fifth Met to make his first major league start vs. the Yankees. The others were Jeremy Griffiths (2003), Hisanori Takahashi (2010) and Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom, who did it in back-to-back starts in May 2014.
Stats of the Game
The Mets gave up three or more long balls for the third time in five games. They didn’t do that once in the first 84 contests of the season.
The seven combined home runs in today’s contest tied the record for the most in a Subway Series game. The first time that occurred was on Sept. 24, 2009.
Player of the Game
Soto, who went 1-for-10 in the Bronx in May, homered, doubled and scored twice on Friday. His slash line is up to .266/.399/.516.
On Deck
Frankie Montas (0-1, 6.00 ERA) will make his third start as a Met. He is 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings pitched vs. the Yankees, his former team, in his career. Lefty Carlos Rodón (9-5, 2.95 ERA) goes for the Yankees. He is 3-0 with a 1.15 ERA in 15 2/3 innings against the Mets. Game time is 4:10 p.m. ET. It will air on SNY, FS1 and YES.
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