Francisco Lindor hit a career-high three homers Sunday night, including the tie-breaking solo shot in the eighth inning, as the host New York Mets edged the New York Yankees 7-6 in a wild, tension-filled, back-and-forth Subway Series finale.
Lindor’s third homer came one inning after benches emptied when he and Giancarlo Stanton exchanged words as Stanton rounded the bases following his game-tying two-run homer.
After homering to right off Chad Green (7-7), Lindor gazed at the Mets dugout and took a leisurely stroll around the bases before enjoying an extended celebration with teammates near the home dugout.
Seth Lugo (4-2) earned the win with a perfect eighth and Edwin Diaz allowed a pair of baserunners in the ninth but got Stanton to hit a game-ending pop-up to Lindor to secure his 29th save and cap the longest regular-season nine-inning Subway Series game at four hours and six minutes — eight minutes longer than Saturday’s game.
The Mets (72-72) moved within three games of the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds in the race for the second National League wild card while the Yankees (79-64) fell a game behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox in the AL wild-card race.
The game began with a 37-minute first inning in which Stanton (double) and Joey Gallo (sacrifice fly) had RBIs off Carlos Carrasco in the top half before Michael Conforto delivered an RBI single off Clarke Schmidt in the bottom. Lindor hit his first homer, a three-run shot, in the second, and James McCann extended the lead to 5-2 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer in the sixth before Lindor answered with a solo homer in the bottom half of the inning.
The two teams, which stood together during Saturday’s solemn pregame ceremony honoring the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, almost fought following Stanton’s homer in the seventh.
As he trotted between second and third, Stanton exchanged words with Lindor. The benches and bullpens immediately began emptying and the teams were milling about one another by the time Stanton touched home plate.
Carrasco allowed two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five over five innings. Schmidt, making his 2021 debut, gave up five runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out two in 4 1/3 innings.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge left the game in the third inning with dizziness after striking out in the first and third innings.
–Field Level Media