Mets Come Back to Beat Yankees
Raise your hand — who thought the Mets had a chance to win Sunday’s final Subway Series game against the Yankees? Down 2-1 in the ninth, down to their last strike against Mariano Rivera, who hadn’t blown a save against the Mets since 1999? If your hand is raised right now, you are just a liar.
But somehow the Mets did it. Jason Bay worked out a walk. Lucas Duda got a single to move Bay to third. Then pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino singled to right to tie the game at two. The game almost ended when the next batter, Ruben Tejada, hit a ball that went under shortstop Ramiro Pena’s glove, but Duda was thrown out at home trying to score the game-winning run.
That’s okay, because the Mets were able to break through against Luis Ayala in the tenth. With the bases loaded (thanks to another error by poor, poor Pena), Bay managed a single to right for the game-winning hit (below).
It was nice to see Bay get that hit. He seems to be a decent fellow who is trying his best to be the hitter he used to be. You don’t want to hate the guy, but unless he regains his hitting touch, he will quickly fall into the Oliver Perez/Luis Castillo zone.
One down note from the game — R.A. Dickey had to leave after five solid innings after slipping off the mound and injuring his left glute — he literally has a pain in the butt! Hopefully he won’t miss his next start.
This was a crucial win. The Mets head off for a seven-game West coast trip (four games here in sunny Los Angeles, three in crummy San Francisco). West coast trips are always difficult — you don’t want to go into one with a four-game losing streak.
Plus, you never want to get swept by those damned Yankees.