In what was an emotional night, commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Mets came up short of what would have been a special win on a significant date.
After the Yankees jumped on Taijuan Walker in the second inning for three home runs and five runs, the Mets found themselves in an early 5-0 hole.
However, they'd fight back against starter Corey Kluber. First, they chipped away for three runs to pull within two, getting back into the game at 5-3. And Javier Báez's solo shot later cut the deficit to 5-4.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mets got that special moment they were looking for in the form of James McCann's go-ahead two-run homer to give them a 6-5 lead. Ironically, McCann semi-replicated his predecessor, Mike Piazza, who had a dramatic home run of his own to beat the Atlanta Braves, 10 days after the 9/11 attacks occurred 20-years-ago.
With the Mets clinging to a one-run lead, Kevin Pillar knocked in a big insurance run with two outs in the seventh to extend his team's lead 7-5.
But unfortunately, this lead wouldn't hold, as Trevor May fell apart in the top of the eighth, giving up a game-tying two-run shot to Aaron Judge.
And the Yankees weren't finished, as Báez's detrimental throwing error gave them a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
“With everything that’s going on and the night that it was, it’s not the night that you want to not be on your best stuff,” May said. “You want to give the fans what they came to see. I know there’s a lot of extra stuff attached to this baseball game, being a Met. … I can definitely feel how this loss can be a little bit more emotionally charged than others. Trust me, I’m feeling that, too. All I want to do is flip this table over. I’m frustrated to a point where that’s all I got.”
Speaking of Piazza, Pete Alonso nearly had a similar moment, when he lifted a long fly ball to center field in the bottom of the eighth with two men on. This ignited initial excitement from the crowd, but Brett Gardner had room to make the catch at the warning track to end the threat.
The Mets nearly pulled off a dramatic win on a special night. Instead, they came up short and wasted a prime chance to gain a game on the Braves in the NL East. They are five games back with 19 left to play and their postseason chances just got slimmer.
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