NEW YORK (AP) — The Subway Series turned into two teams passing in different directions.
After the Mets completed a four-game sweep with a 12-3 rout in the Bronx on Wednesday night, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sounded his most frustrated in two years.
“We’re getting our teeth kicked in,” he said during a question-and-answer session that included a pair of profanities and ended with him telling reporters: “Sorry for using the s word.”
“Nobody has higher expectations than us in that frickin’ room,” he said. “We’re pissed off. We got to play better. This has gone on long enough. It’s very frustrating to go through, but I also know we’re competing our asses off, and we just got to make sure we continue to walk in with the right level of edge and willingness to compete because no one’s going to pull us out of this but us.”
Francisco Lindor homered twice, and Pete Alonso, Tyrone Taylor and Mark Vientos once each. The Mets finished 4-0 against the Yankees this year for their second Subway Series sweep and first since 2013, outscoring their rival 36-14. The Mets (53-48) improved to 29-13 after a 24-35 start and are five games over .500 for the first time since April 2023.
“It’s great winning. I love winning,” Lindor said. “The vibes are completely different than when we were losing. Right now we understand that we have a good team and that we have great players and great people in this clubhouse, and we’re all playing for each other.”
The Yankees (60-44) are 10-22 following a 50-22 start and 1-8-2 in their last 11 series after opening 17-3-2. They have yielded 34 homers over 18 games in July and gave up five in a game for the first time in two years.
Asked whether the team’s confidence had been shaken, captain Aaron Judge took five seconds to think before responding:
“You can read body language sometimes, and there’s some certain times where we’re hanging our head a little bit and you just need a little kick in the butt to get it going again,” he said.
Boone, almost always upbeat and even-keeled, hadn’t sounded this displeased since a 5-2 loss to Toronto on Aug. 20, 2022, the Yankees’ 20th in 29 games after entering the All-Star break 64-28. He pounded the podium then, making a microphone shake and a water bottle jump.
“It’s no fun going through it. I know how hard this frickin’ game is,” he said. “You take your lumps and it’s it sucks, especially when you know what you’re capable of and you’re taking your lumps for an extended period. It can be rough, but no one’s going to feel sorry for you, that’s for sure, especially when you wearing this uniform.”
“So it’s on us to just make sure we’re nose down, getting after it, walking through those doors every day with an edge and an expectation that today’s the day we can get it rolling.” he added. “And I look forward to going through that with these guys but, again, I’ve said we hold the pen, we’re in control of the story and that has not changed. But we got to play better or it doesn’t matter.”
Taylor, Alonso and Lindor homered off Gerrit Cole (3-2). who allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings as his ERA climbed to 5.40. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has given up seven home runs with an 11.17 ERA in a pair of starts against the Mets and two homers with a 3.20 ERA in his other five outings.
When Taylor chased Cole with his third hit, a flare over second baseman Gleyber Torres, the pitcher flipped his glove in the air.
“I’m frustrated,” Cole said, “frustrated sitting in the emotions of this loss, but our job is to our job is to flush it and not let the play of the last six weeks affect the way we prepare for the next game. So it’s not like we’re not feeling it.”
In the other clubhouse, Lindor was glowing. After his first homer, a drive into the right field second deck, he stretched into the stands to give gum to 3-year-old daughter Kalina, sitting in the first row on the home plate side of the dugout with 1-year-old sister Amapola and their mom Katia.
“That was really, really cool to be able to see my wife and my daughters and interact with them in the game and just show love to my daughters and my wife.” Lindor said. “She loved it. She was talking the whole entire time. At one point I was like: `Baby girl, you got to pay attention to the game. Daddy’s got to work.'”
Early in the year, the Mets were on track to be sellers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. The Yankees had visions of coasting to the AL East title and bulking up for the postseason as they tried to win their first title since 2009.
With less than a week before the deadline, the Yankees trail Baltimore by 1 1/2 games in their division and the Mets are in position for a wild card berth.
“It feels like today is going to be very different than the last day going into the trade deadline with who actually is available, who is on the block,” Boone said before the defeat. “Does a team get super creative and change the landscape a little bit? You never know where it’s going to go or what domino starts to lead to another move. … But right now it seems very cloudy with especially a lot of teams, I’m sure, honestly not knowing if they’re in or out.”
