Mets pound Yankees pitching again as Alvarez leads 12-2 blowout for Subway Series sweep

NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Alvarez went 3 for 3 with an early homer and three RBIs, Tyrone Taylor added a three-run drive and the surging New York Mets routed the New York Yankees 12-2 on Wednesday night for a two-game Subway Series sweep.

Harrison Bader also went deep and delivered an RBI double for the Mets (39-39), who chased rookie Luis Gil (9-3) in the fifth inning. They pounded Yankees pitching for seven homers, 21 runs and 24 hits over two nights at Citi Field.

“As a guy that likes to talk a lot of crap, I think it’s fun,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor, who enjoyed earning city bragging rights for the Mets and their fans. "I think it’s fun for the barbershop. I think it’s fun for every workplace.”

With their 15th victory in 19 games, the Mets climbed back to .500 for the first time since they were 18-18 going into a May 10 loss to Atlanta.

“That's not the mission, but it does feel good that we are on the right track,” Lindor said. “It's a beautiful thing when we can all hold each other accountable, and that's what we're doing right now.”

The struggling Yankees, who lead the AL East, have lost four consecutive series and eight of 10 games.

“You don’t like getting your teeth kicked in. It’s been a crappy two weeks for us. But it’s part of it. We know it’s coming," manager Aaron Boone said. “Adversity’s going to hit you. We got hit with a little bit right now.”

Following an 87-minute rain delay in the fifth, Aaron Judge launched a two-run homer with the Yankees trailing 7-0 in the sixth. It was his 287th home run, tying Bernie Williams for seventh in franchise history.

Judge also joined Mark McGwire (four times) and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players to reach 30 homers before the All-Star break three times.

Sean Manaea (5-3) dodged early trouble, dancing around five walks by allowing only two hits in five shutout innings before a sellout crowd of 43,004. He induced three double-play grounders in the first four innings, including two from Alex Verdugo before Verdugo snapped an 0-for-22 slump with a single in the sixth.

Verdugo bounced into an inning-ending double play after three consecutive walks in the first — the second night in a row the Yankees came up empty after loading the bases with less than two outs in the first inning.

“I asked our guys if that was the scouting report — get the bases loaded. Because it felt like it was déjà vu,” Lindor said. “But hats off to our pitching staff, being able to get out of those jams.”

Alvarez hit a two-run homer that made it 3-0 in the third, then added an RBI double in a four-run fifth — both to the opposite field. He also walked and scored three times, finishing a triple short of the cycle on his perfect night at the plate.

“I like the way I feel right now," the 22-year-old catcher said.

Mark Vientos had two RBIs and Lindor doubled his first two times up for the Mets, who have homered in 10 straight games. They've scored at least 10 runs five times in their past 13 games after doing it just twice in their first 65 games.

“It’s a good feeling now,” said rookie manager Carlos Mendoza, who was Boone’s bench coach with the Yankees the past four seasons. “Credit to that group right there. Good players, good coaches, and they're having fun."

Adrian Houser pitched three scoreless innings for his first major league save.

Gil was charged with five runs, four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He's lost two consecutive starts, including a huge flop last week against Baltimore, after going 9-0 in his previous 11.

“No one expects it to be easy,” Boone said. “I know you sail through the first couple months and obviously at a level not foreseen, really. You’re going to have bumps along the way. So we’ll kind of rally around him and keep up with him getting better. But he’ll learn from it and grow from it.”

The crosstown rivals meet again for two more games July 23-24 at Yankee Stadium.

“It feels good to be playing good baseball, not just the past two nights, but a month I would say,” Lindor said. “This is what we expect.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RHP Scott Effross (low back surgery) had his rehab assignment transferred from Class A Tampa to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Mets: RHP Drew Smith was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain, and RHP Ty Adcock was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. ... RHP Kodai Senga (right shoulder capsule strain) is scheduled to throw two innings of live batting practice against minor leaguers Thursday at Citi Field.

UP NEXT

Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (9-4, 3.86 ERA) starts Thursday night at last-place Toronto against RHP José Berríos (6-6, 3.43) in the opener of a four-game series.

Mets: Following a day off, LHP Jose Quintana (3-5, 4.58 ERA) faces Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (8-2, 2.34) on Friday night at Citi Field. Houston has won seven in a row to get back to .500.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Grounds crew members cover the infield during a rain delay in the fifth inning of a baseball game between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Security workers stand on the field during a rain delay in a baseball game between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees at Citi Field, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Brandon Nimmo slides past New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino to score on a double by Francisco Alvarez during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez runs to second base for an RBI double against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil walks off the mound as New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez runs the bases on a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez celebrates with Tyrone Taylor, left, and Brandon Nimmo, right, after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Yankees during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez hits an RBI double against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The wind at Newport Country Club hasn’t been able to slow down Hiroyuki Fujita in the U.S. Senior Open.

Maybe the rain will stop him.

The Japanese Tour veteran shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to improve to 14 under in pursuit of a wire-to-wire win and his first victory on American soil. He’ll have to withstand thunderstorms forecast for the final round as well as a charge from 2019 champion Steve Stricker, who made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to shoot his third straight 66 and cut a four-stroke deficit in half.

“The conditions are supposed to be pretty bad, from what I hear, tomorrow,” Fujita said. “I don’t have a lot of distance on my club, so I’m definitely going to be in some tough spots. I’m just going to focus on the fact that I’m playing on the last day in the last group and focus on the fact that I’m lucky to be here.”

Richard Green shot 69 to sit at minus-11, with Richard Bland (69) at 9 under and Bob Estes (66) at 8 under.

Players teed off early and in threesomes from both nines on Saturday in an attempt to finish before the fog rolled in on the 7,024-yard, par-70 course on the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Tee times were moved up again for the final round on Sunday, when rain and lightning were forecast for the afternoon.

“This place is meant to be kind of firm and fast and kind of linksy in feel. If it stayed this way, a little breezy, and firmed up a little bit, it would be a really tough test tomorrow,” 2021 winner Jim Furyk said.

“If it rains quite a bit, I think you’ll see some guys who are able to score, where it’s easier to keep it on the fairway, easier to get the balls on the greens, and maybe a little less difficult,” he said. “If it’s wet, if it rains, someone will go out there and fire it.”

Fujita, who had never broken 70 on the 50-and-over tour, did it for the third day in a row while posting the only bogey-free round on Saturday. He has just one bogey in the first 54 holes and has missed just one fairway in the tournament.

“He didn’t really miss a shot all the way around. He’s very consistent,” said Stricker, who was the tournament’s runner-up in each of the last two years. “We’re going to have to go out and have a good round to try to catch him. It looks like he’s in control of what’s going on with his game and emotion.”

Fujita had three birdies on the front on Saturday to open a big lead at 14 under before making nine straight pars on the back nine.

“He just didn’t make any mistakes,” Green said. “If he plays like that tomorrow, it’s going to take a good round from the guys coming from behind to catch him. You never know in the pressure of a U.S. Open at the end of the week what might happen. But I’ll just play my game and see where it ends up.”

Stricker fell four strokes back with a bogey on the par-3 13th but then got the stroke back on No. 16. He drained a 40-foot putt on the 17th right before Fujita missed his birdie putt from about 12 feet.

Stricker, who was second by two strokes to Padraig Harrington in 2022 and one shot behind Bernhard Langer last year, has posted a 33 on all six nine-hole sides of the tournament.

“You’ve got Greenie, obviously, who’s playing great at the minute. Steve Stricker’s been there, done it," Bland said. "I don’t know too much about the guy that’s in front, but he’s pretty much had the lead all week.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The clubhouse at the Newport Country Club is visible Friday, June 28, 2024, behind a sign for the U.S. Senior Open which is being played June 27-30 in Newport, R.I. (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen)