The skies opened up in the bottom of the fifth inning, and shortly after Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double, the rain, although not drizzling, turned into a torrential downpour that led to the game being halted after 87 minutes of heavy rain.
It was a fitting match on a night when the Mets thundered and the Yankees got soaked.
The Subway Series reaffirmed what was true just a few days ago: The Mets were on fire and the Yankees were faltering.
The direction of both teams reversed on Wednesday as Carlos Mendoza’s squad defeated Aaron Boone’s squad, 12-2, to record its second straight win in front of a sellout crowd of 43,004 at Citi Field.
The Mets (39-39) have won 15 of 19 games and are now above .500 for the first time since going 18-18 on May 7.
The Yankees (52-30) lost just three of their first 22 series this year but have now lost four straight series and eight of 10 games.
The Mets boast an increasingly relentless offense that torments opposing pitchers.
The lineup, suddenly without any weaknesses, is intimidating at the top of the plate and powerful at the bottom of the plate, averaging 8.1 runs over the past nine games.
They hit seven home runs in two days against the Yankees.
It seems like every night there’s a different hero: Alvarez homered to drive in three runs, Tyrone Taylor’s three-run homer sealed the win, and Harrison Bader hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to seal the win.
The Yankees’ lineup problems have been exposed, with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto unable to carry a team that lacks a third option, let alone a lower-ranked one.
Other than Judge and Soto, batters combined for 8 hits in 55 at-bats (.145 batting average) in the two games, with 8 walks and no extra base hits.
Equally worrisome for the Yankees are the issues with their starting rotation that have been exposed in these two games.
The ace, who filled in for Gerrit Cole for the first few months after he was injured on Tuesday due to a drop in velocities, had a lackluster performance in his second straight start.
Luis Gil’s ERA jumped one point from 2.03 to 3.15 in two appearances.
Following a poor showing last week against the Orioles, the rookie right-hander again struggled with control, giving up five runs on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.
After being in danger for several innings, Gill succumbed to Mets hitters in the third inning.
JD Martinez singled to right field, sending Francisco Lindor home.
Two at-bats later, Alvarez smashed a two-run homer to right field, rounded first base and raised his arms, jump-starting a rain-interrupted party in Queens.
The Mets didn’t ask for much more from their offense, but they got plenty out of the delay.
In the fifth inning, the Mets loaded the bases and scored on a Mark Vientos walk and a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly, then Bader hit an RBI double.
After Judge hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to put the Yankees up 7-2, the Mets fought back in the bottom of the inning against Yoendrys Gomez with two outs, and Taylor’s laser-like hit to left field killed any remaining drama.
The Yankees were sunk after a few good innings of pitching, giving up just six hits.
Sean Manaea got out of the jam by pitching five scoreless innings (two hits, five walks) before being knocked out by a pitch count and a storm delay.
Three Mets relief pitchers closed out the game, including Adrian Hauser for the final three innings.
For the second night in a row, the Yankees’ best chance came in the first inning.
For the second straight night, the Yankees had a chance with the bases loaded with less than two outs.
And for the second night in a row, the Yankees failed to score a run, this time after Alex Verdugo was hit into a double play.
The Mets are starting to show signs of victory.
The Yankees’ outlook was as ominous as the dark clouds that were coming.
