Jeff McNeil flipped his bat and jogged to first base, cradling his hand as he faced away from the Mets’ dugout.
The Mets utilized a patchwork pitching arrangement to stay competitive on Friday, with McNeil playing a pivotal role in their fireworks display.
And then—boom.
McNeil’s two-run homer in the seventh secured a thrilling 6-5 win against the Yankees at Citi Field.
This victory marked the Mets’ third consecutive game with a home run, as they distanced themselves from a rough patch that saw them suffer three losses in Pittsburgh just last weekend.
Meanwhile, the Yankees fell to their fifth straight defeat, struggling with their pitching yet again. Luke Weaver, in particular, expressed frustration after recording a seventh blown save this season.
In the eighth inning, Pete Alonso’s two walks breathed life into the Mets before he set up McNeil’s game-changing homer on a full-count changeup from Weaver.
But that wasn’t all; he also managed to grab McNeil’s earlier hit before DJ LeMahieu’s one-hopper denied the Yankees a chance to tie.
Reed Garrett took the mound for the final two scoreless innings, stepping in as Edwin Diaz was unavailable after back-to-back appearances.
Marcus Stroman, returning from the injured list, gave the Yankees a chance by limiting them to three runs over five innings, striking out four while issuing just one walk. His outing ended after 81 pitches.
Justin Hagenman ran into trouble right away, allowing homers to the first two batters he faced: Jackson Dominguez and Aaron Judge. Dominguez’s shot came off a pitch that a plate umpire, Mike Estabrook, had called a ball, resulting in Domínguez’s seventh homer on a full-count sinker. Judge followed with his 32nd homer of the season.
Nonetheless, the Mets bounced back in the bottom half of the inning. After Domínguez failed to snag a line drive from Brandon Nimmo, it slipped past him, turning into a double.
Soto received loud cheers from the crowd before his at-bat, a stark contrast to the boos he faced during the Mets’ visit to Yankee Stadium in May. He jumped on a 1-2 cutter from Stroman, launching it over the left-center field fence for his 21st homer of the season.
The Mets tightened the score to 3-2 thanks to Alonso’s RBI single, which came after Soto’s double.
Hagenman also allowed his third solo homer of the day, this time to Cody Bellinger, marking Bellinger’s 13th of the season in just four games against the Mets.
That marked Domínguez’s second home run, pushing the Mets to a 5-3 deficit. Hagenman was pulled after allowing a single to LeMahieu, and Domínguez greeted Austin Warren by sending another ball over the left-field fence. The Yankees wasted opportunities to extend their lead after Warren struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. following a single from Judge and two walks issued to Giancarlo Stanton.
In his third appearance (and first start in the MLB), Hagenman gave up four runs on four hits while striking out five in just 4⅓ innings. Before his major league debut against the Yankees, the last Mets pitcher to do so was Jacob DeGrom in 2014.
Brett Batty chipped away at the Yankees’ lead with a solo homer in the sixth, his ninth of the season, making the score 5-4.
