Yankees Beat Mets, Even Subway Series

The Yankees beat the Mets on Saturday at Citi Field, setting up a rubber game of the Subway Series on Sunday.

The Yankees scored all of their runs on two swings of the bat off of Noah Syndergaard — a three-run homer in the first by Carlos Beltran, and a Brian McCann two-run shot in the sixth.

The Mets blew a golden opportunity to get back in the game in the bottom of the sixth. With runners on first and second on no outs, the slumping (he is hitless in his last 17 at bats) Yoenis Cespedes struck out. A walk loaded the bases, but, but David Wright and Juan Uribe also struck out. Uribe was pinch-hitting for Lucas Duda because a lefty was on the mound. It was a curious decision. The Mets really needed a home run there, and even against a lefty, Duda was more likely than Uribe to hit one. But Terry Collins played it by the book with the extremely overrated lefty-righty match-up nonsense. If Collins thinks Duda is so incapable of performing in this potentially game-changing moment, he should not play him at all.

Syndergaard lasted six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He did strike out eight batters and did not walk anyone. His record falls to 8-7 and his ERA is now 3.39.

The Mets got two on with two outs in the ninth, forcing Joe Girardi to bring in closer Andrew Miller. He got pinch hitter Travis d’Arnaud to ground out to end the game.

The Mets lose game two of the Subway Series, 5-0. Their magic number remains at eight, pending the outcome of Saturday’s Nationals-Marlins contest.