Baseball in the Big Apple has been fun to follow for the majority of the 2022 MLB regular season. But honestly, it doesn’t get much better than what the Yankees and Mets both did on Tuesday night.
Each squad faced a sizeable deficit late in their respective games, yet used a couple of monstrous swings (including a historic one) to transform the expected outcomes. These games were so ridiculous that we just have to revisit both.
Judge, Stanton power Yankees’ walk-off win
The Yankees tried to get themselves over the hump on Tuesday against the Pirates, but Pittsburgh kept finding ways to answer. New York was ahead 4-3 after six innings before the Buccos rattled off five unanswered runs to secure an 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
That’s when things got nutty. First, it was Aaron Judge making history with his 60th home run of the season:
No. 60 ties The Sultan of Swat for 2nd all-time in American League history!@TheJudge44 ?⚖️ pic.twitter.com/DNwFXsJFMC
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 21, 2022
Then, the Yankees loaded the bases for Giancarlo Stanton, who provided an absolute missile for a walk-off grand slam.
Grand Slam Stan. pic.twitter.com/GpdUztMQvM
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 21, 2022
This thing barely got off the ground and had an exit velocity of 118 miles per hour. Let’s also not forget that this is the Yankees’ second walk-off grand slam in the past month. Josh Donaldson did it for New York in a dramatic victory against the Rays on August 17th.
After dropping two-of-three to the Brewers in Milwaukee, this monumental comeback just has to propel them for the remaining two weeks of the regular season. Right? Right?!
New York has now won two in a row and six of its last 10 games. The Toronto Blue Jays also won on Tuesday night, so the Yankees’ AL East lead remains at 5.5 games.
Alonso, Lindor prevent postseason clinch hangover
Remember when it felt like the sky was falling for the Mets after getting swept by the Cubs? I do. Thankfully, the Amazins have once again shown everyone that this year’s club is not like previous iterations. Instead of wilting under pressure, they’ve found a way to persevere and get back on track.
This was once again on display Tuesday night in Milwaukee. After clinching the franchise’s 10th postseason berth on Monday, it looked like they were headed for a letdown game following a subdued celebration.
Down 4-0 in the sixth inning, Pete Alonso hit a three-run dinger for the second straight night to get New York on the board. In the following frame, the Mets kept the pressure on the Brewers’ pitching by loading the bases. That’s when Francisco Lindor made them pay with a grand slam.
Here’s a look at both of those clutch homers:
Just two swings of the bat turned a potential letdown game into a huge win for the #Mets. You love to see it. #LGM (via @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/pidnj7j68l
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) September 21, 2022
This comeback wasn’t as dramatic as the Yankees’ was, but it was just as important. After all, the NL East is still up for grabs and the Braves never seem to lose. Pulling out a victory helped the Mets maintain a one-game lead within the division.
Yankees and Mets have regained their swagger
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it hundreds of times: MLB’s regular season is a marathon. With a six-month schedule, ups and downs are bound to happen — even for the league’s best teams. To varying degrees, the Mets and Yankees have both struggled through those down periods and appear to be on the other side of it.
From April through August, the Mets’ longest losing streak was just three games, which they did twice. After getting swept by Chicago, New York had its second three-game losing streak since the start of September. But that seems like a distant memory now — they’ve won six straight games and are 12-7 so far this month (prior to Wednesday’s finale in Milwaukee).
On the other hand, it felt like nobody could beat the Yankees between April and June. They were 56-21 through the first three months before going 23-31 the next two months (including a 10-18 August). They’ve gotten back on track in September, though, as manager Aaron Boone’s club is 10-6 since the turn of the calendar.
Both the Mets and Yankees will have questions to answer as the postseason continues creeping closer, but having momentum can cover up some imperfections on the roster. There are still two weeks left to build more of it or lose it. For right now, though, it’s tough to deny the special things happening in the Bronx and Queens.
Baseball is better when both the Mets and Yankees are good, and New York City is going to be absolutely electric with both squads likely participating in October for the first time since 2015.
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Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
