A lengthy pregame sprinkle could only delay the inevitable playing of a memorable baseball game in Queens on Tuesday evening. Fans waited out an hour and a half rain delay to watch the Mets walk off against Mariano Rivera, 2-1.
The game started out as a highly anticipated duel between Mets phenom Matt Harvey and the pitcher who has become the Yankees ace, Hiroki Kuroda. The men matched 0’s inning after inning until a Lyle Overbay single off Harvey gave the Yankees a one run lead in the sixth.
Kuroda went seven shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven. Harvey was every bit as good, going eight innings with 10 strikeouts and six hits allowed. The game came down to Mariano Rivera trying to protect a one run lead, but got away quickly from him after allowing Daniel Murphy to flip a leadoff double down the left field line.
Before you could blink the Mets were walking off, as a David Wright single combined with an error tied the game and put him on second right before Lucas Duda’s flare into right field gave the Mets the victory. For the Mets it was a good effort to keep Matt Harvey undefeated on the year and to get an important win against a crosstown rival.
The Mets have struggled to score runs and to grab headlines as they sit below .500 once again and have watched the Yankees jump out to a surprisingly strong start. While it looked like these two teams were going in different directions before the series, the Yankees all of a sudden look like the that has undergone tremendous turnover in the last couple years, not the Mets.
For the Mets the best is still yet to come as several players they hope are key contributors down the road are still toiling in the minors. The Yankees also should have better days ahead of them, although with a much more limited timetable for their returning players’ contributions. The Yankees have an all-star team on the disabled list that is expected to slowly trickle in during the next couple of months.
For now the Subway Series heads to the Bronx where the Yankees will look to even up the series over these next two days. On Wednesday Jeremy Hefner of the Mets will go up against David Phelps at 7 pm before the series finale on Thursday.
By Sam Jackson