Mets Get Taste of Playoffs in Subway Series Opener

Did the playoffs start early this year or did Citi Field just feel that way?

The most anticipated Subway Series in years kicked off on Tuesday night with the Mets defeating the Yankees at home 6-3. With both teams in first place the battle of New York was set to be great.

Things looked bleak for the full house of Mets fans. Taijuan Walker gave up home runs to Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo on back-to-back pitches, putting the Yankees up 2-0 in the top of the first.

But the ball was flying in Citi Field last night.

The Mets responded with an explosive half inning of offense. Starling Marte hit a solo home run. Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso doubled. Then Eduardo Escobar hit his twelfth home run of the season. New York got punched in the mouth and responded with a knockout. They led 4-2.

“It was honestly like a World Series home run,” Escobar said. “I’ve never played in an environment like that.”

New York was hot. Much like The Great Gatsby, a week of extreme temperatures led up to the climax which is the Subway Series.

Buck Showalter managed his team like it was the playoffs. He used Adam Ottavino for five outs in the seventh and eighth innings, then turned to Edwin Diaz for the four-out save.

Maybe it’s a preview of what’s to come this October.

The Mets have a 99.8% chance to make the playoffs and a 14.3% chance to win the World Series, according to Fangraphs.

New York has very few holdovers from their last playoff appearance in 2016. Jacob deGrom was the only non-rookie with Seth Lugo and Brandon Nimmo each appearing sporadically for the Mets throughout the season. None of them played in the single-game Wild Card elimination against the San Francisco Giants.

Despite the Mets being filled with veterans and World Series champions like Max Scherzer, their homegrown talent is still waiting for their first taste of playoff ball.

“I’ve never played in a Major League playoff game before,” Alonso said. “But if I had to guess, that’s what it would be like.”

Showalter wants the Mets to hold onto their memory of playing in front of a sold-out Citi Field. It’s the third time the stadium has been full this season with Opening Day and Keith Hernandez‘s number retirement the other two times.

“It’s like I told the players in the advance meeting. I said ‘they should relish playing in this environment and have fun, draw something from it,” Showalter said. “We’ll be able to reach back for it as we go forward.”

The Mets and Yankees have three games remaining outside of a possible World Series meeting. The real test and playoff atmosphere the Mets need to worry about is the 12 games against Atlanta over the final two months. New York has yet to relinquish their division lead. Hopefully, it remains that way.