NEW YORK — Confidence and camaraderie.
Those are the two qualities the New York Mets boast about when they execute epic comebacks like the one against the New York Yankees on Sunday. Down one run with three outs remaining in the seventh inning of a Game 1 doubleheader, Pete Alonso welcomed Aroldis Chapman with a leadoff, game-tying solo home run to left. The Mets, no panic and all business, were cooking.
“We committed to being resilient, being tough outs in the box, and capitalizing on mistakes,” Alonso said.
The team’s confidence grew after Alonso’s dinger. The energy in the Mets dugout changed. They became a threat. The Mets put two runners on for pinch-hitter Kevin Pillar, who hit a bloop single to left to load the bases. After James McCann struck out, pinch-hitter Jose Peraza answered the call with a two-run double to left field. Brandon Nimmo, the next batter, cleared the bases with another single.
It was the kind of relentless and punishing offensive performance the Mets, sitting 29th in runs scored per game, have been craving this season.
Even after the Mets (43-37) knocked Chapman out of his relief appearance, the Yankees couldn’t stop the bleeding against an offense that suddenly turned hostile. The Mets batted around the order and put up six runs in a seventh-inning rally that widened the divide between New York’s ball clubs. The first-place Mets performed like a team at the top of its division, while the Yankees acted like they’d already accepted their fourth place standing in the AL East.
“Once it started, it couldn’t stop,” Alonso said. “We just want to be relentless against every single pitching staff we face.”
Working in tandem with its confidence is the club’s camaraderie. The Mets passed the baton from Alonso all the way down the lineup to No. 9 hitter Peraza. Contributions from the Bench Mob, a secondary squad that is continuing to make meaningful plays even after the injury returns from regular starters, has allowed the Mets to believe in each other. Marcus Stroman, who gave up three earned runs across five innings in Game 1 on Sunday, said the Mets’ camaraderie reminded him of his teammates’ determination in the Blue Jays’ storied 2016 season that ended in a heartbreaking ALCS loss to the Cleveland Indians.
The Amazin’s winning two out of three against the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend certainly felt like a turning point for the offense.
The Mets scored 20 runs in three games against their crosstown rival. Dominic Smith, swinging a hot bat after a lull period, cranked his ninth home run of the year off Gerrit Cole. Brandon Nimmo, fresh off the IL, has energized the lineup with his sharp eye leading off. Francisco Lindor, playing in his first Subway Series, received better pitches to hit, batting No. 2 in the lineup between Nimmo and Smith.
“There’s no sense of panic with this team,” Stroman said. “I think everybody knows what they’re capable of and the energy gets transferred from player to player, even when we’re down.”
Every Mets hitter believing he, too, can possess the “clutch” factor is a quality the club is counting on to get them through their current stretch of 33 games in 31 days. At the end of that finish line is the All-Star break. The beast of the 162-game season is not even halfway over for the Mets, so the buzz around their first place standing in an NL East division that is underperforming can seem premature.
For the Amazin’s, their 2-1 series win against the Yankees was just another challenge they overcame as a confident and connected bunch. That the wins came against their crosstown rival was just a footnote on a season demanding bigger goals to achieve.
“We’ve been consistent with the way we play the game,” said manager Luis Rojas. “That’s why this group is so special. There’s nothing that bothers them. They stay neutral. We can’t be too excited about where we are. We just gotta play.”
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