NEW YORK – Francisco Alvarez went 3 for 3 with an early homer and three RBIs, Tyrone Taylor added a three-run drive and the surging New York Mets routed the New York Yankees 12-2 on Wednesday night for a two-game Subway Series sweep.
Harrison Bader also went deep and delivered an RBI double for the Mets (39-39), who chased rookie Luis Gil (9-3) in the fifth inning. They pounded Yankees pitching for seven homers, 21 runs and 24 hits over two nights at Citi Field.
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“As a guy that likes to talk a lot of crap, I think it’s fun,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor, who enjoyed earning city bragging rights for the Mets and their fans. "I think it’s fun for the barbershop. I think it’s fun for every workplace.”
With their 15th victory in 19 games, the Mets climbed back to .500 for the first time since they were 18-18 going into a May 10 loss to Atlanta.
“That's not the mission, but it does feel good that we are on the right track,” Lindor said. “It's a beautiful thing when we can all hold each other accountable, and that's what we're doing right now.”
The struggling Yankees, who lead the AL East, have lost four consecutive series and eight of 10 games.
“You don’t like getting your teeth kicked in. It’s been a crappy two weeks for us. But it’s part of it. We know it’s coming," manager Aaron Boone said. “Adversity’s going to hit you. We got hit with a little bit right now.”
Following an 87-minute rain delay in the fifth, Aaron Judge launched a two-run homer with the Yankees trailing 7-0 in the sixth. It was his 287th home run, tying Bernie Williams for seventh in franchise history.
Judge also joined Mark McGwire (four times) and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players to reach 30 homers before the All-Star break three times.
Sean Manaea (5-3) dodged early trouble, dancing around five walks by allowing only two hits in five shutout innings before a sellout crowd of 43,004. He induced three double-play grounders in the first four innings, including two from Alex Verdugo before Verdugo snapped an 0-for-22 slump with a single in the sixth.
Verdugo bounced into an inning-ending double play after three consecutive walks in the first — the second night in a row the Yankees came up empty after loading the bases with less than two outs in the first inning.
“I asked our guys if that was the scouting report — get the bases loaded. Because it felt like it was déjà vu,” Lindor said. “But hats off to our pitching staff, being able to get out of those jams.”
Alvarez hit a two-run homer that made it 3-0 in the third, then added an RBI double in a four-run fifth — both to the opposite field. He also walked and scored three times, finishing a triple short of the cycle on his perfect night at the plate.
“I like the way I feel right now," the 22-year-old catcher said.
Mark Vientos had two RBIs and Lindor doubled his first two times up for the Mets, who have homered in 10 straight games. They've scored at least 10 runs five times in their past 13 games after doing it just twice in their first 65 games.
“It’s a good feeling now,” said rookie manager Carlos Mendoza, who was Boone’s bench coach with the Yankees the past four seasons. “Credit to that group right there. Good players, good coaches, and they're having fun."
Adrian Houser pitched three scoreless innings for his first major league save.
Gil was charged with five runs, four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He's lost two consecutive starts, including a huge flop last week against Baltimore, after going 9-0 in his previous 11.
“No one expects it to be easy,” Boone said. “I know you sail through the first couple months and obviously at a level not foreseen, really. You’re going to have bumps along the way. So we’ll kind of rally around him and keep up with him getting better. But he’ll learn from it and grow from it.”
The crosstown rivals meet again for two more games July 23-24 at Yankee Stadium.
“It feels good to be playing good baseball, not just the past two nights, but a month I would say,” Lindor said. “This is what we expect.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Scott Effross (low back surgery) had his rehab assignment transferred from Class A Tampa to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Mets: RHP Drew Smith was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain, and RHP Ty Adcock was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. ... RHP Kodai Senga (right shoulder capsule strain) is scheduled to throw two innings of live batting practice against minor leaguers Thursday at Citi Field.
UP NEXT
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (9-4, 3.86 ERA) starts Thursday night at last-place Toronto against RHP José Berríos (6-6, 3.43) in the opener of a four-game series.
Mets: Following a day off, LHP Jose Quintana (3-5, 4.58 ERA) faces Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (8-2, 2.34) on Friday night at Citi Field. Houston has won seven in a row to get back to .500.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb