I think it’s fair to say that the weekend of September 10, 2021 will go down as one of the most memorable three days in Citi Field history. A blowout win on Friday, a heartbreaking loss on Saturday, and a dramatic win on Sunday later, and the Mets find themselves just three games behind the Padres in the NL Wild Card race – although the Braves still lead the NL East by five games with 18 remaining.
With three of the largest crowds at Citi Field this season (all above 30,000), the energy at the ballpark was rocking and the Mets put on a show for their loyal fanbase. Let’s take a look at the ups (and some downs) from a truly memorable weekend in Queens.
3 Up
Friday Night Blowout
The Mets opened up their weekend series with a bang, defeating the Yankees 10-3 on Friday night. The win was highlighted by a five-run inning third inning, Yankees defensive miscues, and a sensational start from Tylor Megill. The Mets rookie threw a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings, allowing just four hits, a walk, and two runs. The game was actually in the Yankees favor in the beginning of the game, as the Yankees took leads of 1-0 and 2-1. But by the time the Mets hit into three outs in the third inning, they had sent all nine batters to the plate. The following inning, Francisco Lindor connected for his 14th home run of the season. As it would turn out, Lindor was just getting started on an amazing weekend.
New York Teams Unite for 9/11 Ceremony
Before Saturday’s game, in front of a sellout crowd (over 43,000 fans), the Mets and Yankees held a beautiful ceremony on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The emotional event included first pitches from Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre, numerous New York City NYPD and FDNY members in attendance, and and a moment of silence to remember those lost in the attacks. Both the Mets and Yankees wore jerseys with “New York” stitched onto the front, symbolizing the unity of one city of this day. Mets and Yankees players lined up next to each other throughout this ceremony, as the players also donned caps of the various NYC first-responder organizations.
Chants of “USA!” could easily be heard in the ballpark throughout the evening. On a very emotional day filled with sadness and remembrance, it was incredible to see Citi Field be the site of such a touching tribute to all those who were lost on September 11. Seeing the Mets and Yankees play on September 11 annually is something I believe would be great for not just the sport, but for all of New York City.
It’s Outta Here! (x3)
The only thing missing from Francisco Lindor’s magical three-home run evening was a trio of calls from Gary Cohen that would have joined SNY booth lore. But in his best game as a New York Met so far, Lindor captivated the Citi Field crowd with three long balls deep into the night, two of which gave the Mets the lead. In the second inning, Lindor sent a three-run blast into right center that gave the Mets a 4-2 lead. In the sixth, his solos shot extended the Mets lead to 6-4. And finally, his eighth inning four-bagger broke the tie and put the Mets in the lead for good.
His third homer of the evening sent the ESPN booth into a frenzy and resulted in one of the better calls you’ll see from a non-SNY Mets game. After the benches cleared earlier in the game and some jawing between Lindor and Giancarlo Stanton, Lindor got the last laugh as he led the Mets to perhaps their best win of the season – not to mention the best game of his major league career.
Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
3 Down
Benches-Cleared
After a seventh-inning Giancarlo Stanton home run tied the game at 7-7, Stanton slowly – very slowly – rounded the bases, yelling at Lindor as Stanton passed the shortstop position. In fact, Stanton went out of his way to stop in the middle of the basepaths, get some words in to Lindor, before making his time toward home plate. This interaction was not well received in either dugout, as the benches both emptied.
For context, this argument goes back to Saturday’s game when the Yankees were allegedly accused of whistling to each other as a means of identifying Taijuan Walker‘s pitches to other Yankee batters. Now at this point in the game, Lindor had already hit two home runs, so when Stanton hit a long ball of his own, he made sure to get in his two cents – something along the lines of “hey, I can homer like that too.” Thankfully no punches were thrown or no serious fight went down, but it was an ugly scene nonetheless as Lindor would ultimately best Stanton an inning later with his third homer.
Comeback Falls Just Short
After quickly finding themselves in a 5-0 hole on Saturday, the Mets rallied back to take a 6-5 lead on a James McCann two-run home run. The Mets would even extend the lead on a Kevin Pillar RBI-single in the seventh inning. But when Trevor May entered the ballgame, he teed up a two-run home run to Aaron Judge that tied the game. Later in the inning, a throw from Javier Baez while attempting to complete a routine 6-4-3 double play sailed well over Pete Alonso‘s head, allowing Andrew Velazquez to slide home safely from third. The error brought back bad memories of the throwing error by Lucas Duda in the 2015 World Series, allowing Eric Hosmer to score the game-winning run in Game 5.
In the eighth inning, the Mets stranded two runners on base after a Pete Alonso long fly ball to center failed to reach the seat. With their last hope just 90 feet away from home with two outs in the ninth inning, James McCann, the hero in the sixth inning, flew out to right. The loss was a definition of a heartbreaker. If the Mets had completed the comeback, I believe it would have been one of the best games in franchise regular season history, given the sheer emotion of the night as well.
Braves Lead Remains at Five Games
By virtue of both teams going 2-1 this weekend, the Mets still trail the Braves by five games in the NL East. In the Wild Card race, the Mets trail by just three games, but there are just to many teams to hop there. The Padres currently hold the second wild card spot in a virtual tie with the Reds. To get there, the Mets must also pass the Cardinals and Phillies in the standings. In the division, the Mets have just the Braves and Phillies to get by, which seems much more realistic despite the larger gap.
It’s going to be a difficult last few weeks for the Mets, who need to cut at least two games off the Braves lead before the two teams play a final three game series in Atlanta from October 1-3. This week, the Braves host the Rockies for three games, while the Mets host the Cardinals for three games as well. While the Mets playoff chances still remain alive, each day that goes by without that gap closing is another nail into their postseason hopes.
