About Last Night: Mets 9, Yankees 7
By Derek McAdam
June 26, 2024
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The New York Yankees lost to the New York Mets by a score of 9-7 last night, in what continues to be a streak of losing baseball from the Yankees. Here’s a recap of last night’s game.
Quick Stats: W: Dedniel Nunez (1-0): 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 K
L: Gerrit Cole (0-1): 4 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB
It was only the second time in Cole’s career that he did not strike out a single batter in a game. The previous instance occurred in 2016.
Big Story: The Yankees looked as if they would get the scoring started in the 1st inning when they had the bases loaded with no one out. However, Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, and J.D. Davis all struck out to end the inning. It would all be downhill from there…
In the bottom of the inning, the Mets had the bases loaded when Tyrone Taylor sent a base hit into left field to score one run, although Pete Alonso was thrown out at home by Alex Verdugo. However, the run put the Mets on the board with a 1-0 lead.
In the 2nd, Mark Vientos hit a solo home run into the left field seats to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Soon after, former Yankee Harrison Bader went deep off Cole to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0.
Cole didn’t have a 1-2-3 3rd inning, but did manage to keep runs off the board. But in the 4th, Vientos hit his second home run of the night off Cole to make the Mets’ new lead 4-0. Then, Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run home run into right field to make the new score 6-0. Cole would finish the inning, but that would be it for him.
The Yankees got on the board in the 5th when Juan Soto connected for a solo home run, cutting the Mets’ lead to 6-1. However, the Mets would soon begin another rally to put the game out of reach.
In the 6th, Nimmo knocked in a run on a ball that Torres couldn’t properly field to give the Mets a 7-1 lead. J.D. Martinez then hit an RBI double to score an additional run, before Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to score another run, making the score 9-1.
In the 7th, Aaron Judge ripped an RBI double down the left-field line to score Anthony Volpe, making the new score 9-2 Mets.
In the 8th, Austin Wells delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to drive in a run to make the new score 9-3 Mets. After Soto missed his second home run of the night by a few feet that would’ve made the new score 9-6, he walked to load the bases for Judge, who then hit a grand slam to make the score 9-7 Mets.
Player of the Game: Judge deserves this honor yet again. While the Yankees didn’t win, Judge’s five RBIs and the grand slam kept them in the game. He continues to put up MVP-caliber statistics.
Notable Performances: Vientos and Nimmo each drove in multiple runs for the Mets, while Volpe and Soto also had good outings.
Better to Forget: It was not Cole’s night, whatsoever. He struggled to locate and couldn’t keep the ball in the park. Verdugo continues to struggle at the plate, as well as Torres, although I’ll discuss him shortly.
My Take: This is one of those games where after seeing the Yankees bat in the top of the 1st and not score a single run with the bases loaded and no outs, I didn’t have a good feeling from that point forward. While the media said that Cole’s first start was very good, I didn’t necessarily agree with that statement. I thought it was okay at best, but compared to last night’s start, it was much better.
Cole wasn’t locating on many of his pitches. Most of the pitches he was trying to paint the corner with were off the plate, and his frustration was beginning to show when he was discussing the pitches with the home plate umpire. However, the umpire was making the right calls, as many of those pitches weren’t even close to being strikes.
As for the rest of the team, they’re in a slump and it clearly shows. They’ve lost three straight series, all to good teams, and are now on the verge of potentially losing another. And while there are usually many flaws that become exposed during a slump, there is one glaring one that is becoming a big issue: Torres.
Not only is Torres not hitting at the plate, as he has been swinging at pitches way out of the zone, but his defense is a big liability. His 12 errors lead all MLB second basemen, but it’s the simple plays that Torres fails to make.
Just a couple of weeks ago, he dropped a pop-up while trying to make a nonchalant basket catch. I don’t recall Torres ever having dropped one of those, but he still committed a brutal error. Last night’s error was another one that I just couldn’t stomach. Torres was playing in to try and avoid another run crossing the plate, as was the rest of the infield. Nimmo hit a ball in play that was a step to Torres’ left and wasn’t hit hard, but Torres couldn’t handle it.
It’s the small plays like those that Torres isn’t making that is the most frustrating. I can understand making a tough play and possibly making a bad throw, even though I don’t like it. But not the typical plays that must be made. It would also be nice is he actually showed a little hustle running to first base…
The Yankees need to turn their focus to tonight’s game and try to salvage the series before they head back to the Bronx for a four-game series with Toronto.
What’s Next?: The Yankees will try and split the series tonight, and will be sending Luis Gil to the mound. Meanwhile, the Mets will start Sean Manaea. Tonight’s game is scheduled for a 7:10 p.m. EST start and will be available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
