Aaron Judge and Yankees beat Mets in Subway series classic

On the 20th anniversary of September 11, the Mets and Yankees did not disappoint with a stirring pre-game ceremony and equally captivating nine innings.

After the players on each team mingled before the first pitch, lining up side-by-side and exchanging hugs, Subway’s rivals produced a classic that ultimately leaned in the direction of the Yankees.

Pete Alonso’s midfield smash in the eighth inning faded into Brett Gardner’s glove. Aaron Judge’s imposing shot half an inning reached the seats. There you had the difference in the Yankees’ 8-7 win over the Mets before a patriotic 43,144 sell at Citi Field.

“I think overall it was a special night for New York,” said Taijuan Walker.

Even with the win, the Yankees – who ended a seven-game losing streak – found themselves tied with the Blue Jays (who swept a doubles program against Baltimore) for the AL’s second wild card.

“One of those where we needed everyone, we used almost everyone and yeah, that feels really good,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

The Mets lost for the third time in four games and missed an opportunity to gain ground over Atlanta. They remain five games behind the Braves in the eastern NL.

With two runners on base in the eighth, Alonso hit a center shot against Albert Abreu who initially looked like he had a chance to leave the court. He was caught by Gardner to end the Mets rally before Aroldis Chapman had a scoreless ninth goal, leaving the point tied with third.

The Yankees took an 8-7 lead in the eighth on a Javier Baez pitch error that gave the go-ahead. On the play, Baez took a Francisco Lindor throw on the ground from Luke Voit to shortstop and took out the second in second place. But with Gleyber Torres on him, Baez sent the pitch to the first, allowing Andrew Velazquez to score.

“I know it’s September 11, but it definitely felt like a playoff game,” said Brett Gardner.

The judge dropped the tale of a Mets wide receiver leading the team to victory on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by hitting their second home run of the game, a two-run explosion earlier in the inning against Trevor May who tied him 7-7.

In the sixth, James McCann notched a two-run homerun that gave the Mets their first lead of the night. He came in the presence of Mike Piazza for events commemorating September 11. Piazza hit the most famous home run in Mets history on September 21, 2001 – the first game after the World Trade Center bombings – to help his team beat the Braves.

This judge’s equalizer against May cannot be ignored, two days after the reliever told the Post he was happy these games were being played at Citi Field and not Yankee Stadium.

“Fortunately, we play in our park graveyard, so it’s useful,” May said Thursday. “We will keep the circuits of 314 feet at a minimum. “

The judge’s explosion traveled 413 feet and cleared the fence in the left center. Aaron Loup was called in to replace May without any withdrawals after Giancarlo Stanton’s single after the home run.

Seth Lugo only needed seven innings to pitch a scoreless seventh, but manager Luis Rojas said he wanted May’s four-seam fastball against the Yankees’ midfield.

“May has been throwing the ball well for us lately, he has placed all four seams well,” said Rojas.

Jeff McNeil dominated the sixth against Chad Green. After a delay for a fan running on the pitch and initially escaping safety (he was tackled from behind in the middle of the pitch), Kevin Pillar struck out. Green went 1-1 to McCann, who smashed a 96 mph fastball over the left field fence to give the Mets their first lead at 6-5.

Walker struck out the last 13 batters he faced – with seven strikeouts in that streak – after barely surviving a second inning in which he allowed three homers to put the Mets in a hole of five points.

Overall, he allowed five earned runs on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in six innings. All three licensed circuits increased his break total after the All Star to 17.

“It was just a bad second run,” said Walker. “We would have thought that I was giving a tip [pitches] and that’s why [Jonathan] Villar came out and spoke to me. Looks like we fixed it. After that second run, I was just sailing after that.

The Mets began their comeback after a five-point second-hand deficit to Corey Kluber. The unlikely contribution came from Walker, who delivered a single RBI that reduced the Yankees’ lead to 5-3.

Walker gave Kyle Higashioka, Gardner and Judge homers in the second, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead.

Higashioka hit a 96 mph fastball that was over the strike zone in the left field seats for a two-run homerun after Torres’ opener in the inning. DJ LeMahieu delivered a single with two strikeouts before Gardner broke through the fence in the center-right to take the Yankees’ lead to 4-0. On the seventh pitch of the next batting, the judge hit a homerun.

“We needed a win so it’s definitely nice to get one,” said Boone. “It was not easy to run for a big lead and give it back and more.”