Francisco Lindor a tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and the visiting New York Mets earned a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon in to even the three-game Subway Series.
The Mets loaded the bases in the ninth when Fernando Cruz (1-2) hit Tyrone Taylor with a pitch. Lindor snapped the tie by hitting a 3-1 pitch to center field as Cody Bellinger stepped in front of left fielder Jasson Dominguez to make the catch.
Mets pinch runner Luisangel Acuna scored on the play as Bellinger’s throw to the plate was slightly off target.
Mets right-hander Reid Garrett (1-1) loaded the bases in the eighth after a walk to rookie J.C. Escarra. He needed one pitch to escape the jam when he retired DJ LeMahieu on a fly ball to right field.
Mets closer Edwin Diaz struck out Aaron Judge on a full-count fastball to end a 1-2-3 ninth inning and secure his 10th save.
The Mets’ Juan Soto went 1-for-4 with a walk while getting another hostile reception from fans after leaving the Yankees to sign a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets. He singled in the fourth and ahead of a Pete Alonso RBI single that tied the score 1-1. After Soto stole third base, he gave the Mets a 2-1 lead by scoring on a sacrifice fly by Mark Vientos.
The Yankees scored their first run of the game in the third when LeMahieu hit his first homer off Mets’ starter Griffin Canning. Cody Bellinger tied the game 2-2 with a home run in the sixth, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
Judge went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and ended the day with a .402 average.
Bellinger and LeMahieu also made strong defensive plays to preserve the tie in the seventh.
Bellinger fielded a double by Taylor that went over Dominguez’s head and threw out Brett Baty at the plate. LeMahieu made the final out of the seventh by ranging to his left and fielding a grounder by Lindor.
Schmidt allowed two runs on three hits in six-plus innings. He struck out five, walked five and departed after Luis Torrens opened the seventh with a single.
Canning allowed two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four, walked one.
