Major League Baseball

Yankees, Mets playing like they're headed to Subway World Series

Updated Jul. 28, 2022 6:50 p.m. ET

By Deesha Thosar
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Multiple entertaining events took place Wednesday night in New York City.

There was Cautious Clay and BANKS performing at Radio City Music Hall, a pop-up pool party at Roosevelt Island and Neil Patrick Harris guest starring on "The Tonight Show." But none — seriously, none — was better or louder than the stage under the bright lights of Citi Field when Aaron Judge stepped into the box against Max Scherzer.

It was game two of the Subway Series. A sellout crowd of 43,693 was on its feet in the third inning. The Mets were leading by one run. The Yankees had runners on first and second with two outs against Scherzer, who was poised in the center of the stadium’s fishbowl, unfazed by the noise and chaos surrounding him.

Scherzer stuck to his game plan of a steady diet of sliders against the Yankees’ baseball-annihilating slugger. Judge, on pace to pass Babe Ruth’s home run record, took the bait almost every time.

Slider-slider-slider-changeup-slider. Judge swung and missed at three of Scherzer’s four filthy offerings, all of which were dealt under 86 mph. That was all it took for the three-time Cy Young winner to beat the deadliest hitter in the game right now.

The crowd erupted as a swarm of orange and blue high-fived while the visiting fans in pinstripes put their heads in their hands.

"I recognize how good of a hitter he is," Scherzer said of facing Judge, who went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Wednesday. "He can hit me. I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m better than him. He can definitely take you deep. But I also believe that I have the stuff to beat him."

It felt Wednesday like the two crosstown rivals were meeting in late October or early November. But look closely, and the fans were sweating under their caps, wearing shorts and tank tops on an 80-degree summer night. This was July. But the players on the field — and, to some extent, the fans in the stands — were treating it like Game 7 of the World Series.

Who can blame them? This week marked the first time ever that the Mets and Yankees opened a regular-season Subway Series with each team in sole possession of first place. The Bronx Bombers have the best record (66-33) in baseball, and the Mets have been turning heads with their dominant rotation — and that’s without Jacob deGrom, yet headlined by Scherzer.

"I've never played in a major-league playoff game, but if I had to guess, that's what it would be like," Pete Alonso said Tuesday. "Looking to change that this year, though."

Pete Alonso blasts a solo homer vs. Yankees

Pete Alonso helped the New York Mets grab an early lead against the New York Yankees with a solo homer in the second inning Wednesday.

The Mets outpitched the Yankees in their two-game sweep at Citi Field. Taijuan Walker outpaced Jordan Montgomery in the series opener Tuesday, the latter lasting just 2.1 innings against Walker’s six. Walker, who owns a 2.67 ERA and 1.106 WHIP, has recorded nine consecutive starts of six or more innings. Besides Scherzer, he’s the Mets' most consistent starter this season.

But that Walker-Montgomery matchup was just the beginning. Leaning into a quiet confidence, the Mets continued to stifle Yankees bats — no small task against an offense with the highest slugging percentage (.444) in baseball. Former Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino, who has been a key weapon for the Mets this year, took the ball from Walker and recorded five huge outs, including a strikeout of Judge.

If this series was an October prelude, then it’s Edwin Diaz whom the Yankees will fear in a potential inter-borough Fall Classic. On Tuesday, with the Amazin’s leading by two runs, Mets manager Showalter called on Diaz for a critical, four-out save. The trumpets blared, and the intensity skyrocketed.

Not long after, all four outs came via strikeout. Diaz has fanned more than half the batters he has faced this season.

"I’m prepared to face anyone," he said Tuesday. "I’m thinking I’m the best on the mound."

Inside the clubhouse, in the dugout and on the field, Showalter’s Mets approached their first Subway Series of the season like the big test it was because they had something to prove. After the Mets swept the Yankees in the two-game series for the first time since 2014, Alonso roamed the locker room, gleefully smoking a cigar.

The wins against the best team in the American League were big, but these Mets weren’t gloating. There was a competitive maturity on display — about both the long haul and the end game. Starling Marte, who won it in the ninth inning Wednesday with a walk-off single, said that facing the uber-competitive Yankees forced the Mets to play at a higher level.

Starling Marte's walk-off single seals Mets' 3-2 victory vs. Yankees

Starling Marte hit a single in the ninth to break the tie and seal the New York Mets' 3-2 victory against the New York Yankees.

"When you got 50,000 fans screaming, it doesn’t matter what the situation is," Scherzer said. "Your adrenaline is going to be pumping. I love pitching in those situations. I love pitching in this atmosphere. You gotta want the ball in these moments and face the best."

Scherzer, celebrating his 38th birthday, still had one more 6-foot-7 obstacle in his way before his night was over. Once again, it was Scherzer vs. Judge with the tying run on base in the seventh inning. The Mets were up by two, so Judge represented the go-ahead run at the plate, with a blue-and-brown-eyed menace looming just 60 feet, 6 inches away.

Slider-slider-slider-fastball-slider. Again, with the game on the line, Scherzer struck out Judge to end the inning. The future Hall of Famer, using his 99th pitch of the night to elicit a whiff and an explicit word from Judge, never deviated from the plan.

His only wish for his birthday was to help deliver a Mets win. As the sellout crowd at Citi Field roared, the Mets passed the test.

Round two between these storied franchises is Aug. 22-23. Then, deGrom might be back on the mound. Then, Giancarlo Stanton might be back in the Yankees' lineup. Whatever happens in August, neither team will feel satisfied until diamond-studded championship rings are in their hands.

If this Subway Series was any indication, it could very well be between the Mets and Yankees for the last squad standing.

"This is fun," Scherzer said. "This is for bragging rights in New York."

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three-and-a-half seasons as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. She never misses a Rafael Nadal match, no matter what country or time zone he’s playing in (sleep can always be sacrificed for sports!). Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.