Coming into this week's Subway Series matchup, the talk around New York was how the annual Mets-Yankees matchup has lost its flare. Oh boy was that wrong.
Tuesday night in Queens was the most memorable game of the 2013 season thus far. There were enough story lines after Tuesday's ulti-Met classic to write a short novel. After being shutout for the first eight innings, the Mets bats came alive in the 9th scoring two runs capped off by a Lucas Duda walk-off single to give the Amazins a 2-1 victory. They scored two runs on three hits off the greatest closer in the history of baseball, Mariano Rivera. All of that happened with Rivera failing to record an out. History was made as it was the first blown save for the "Sandman" where he failed to record an out in his 19-year Hall of Fame career. It came after the Mets honored the future Hall of Famer before the game as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch as he said farewell to Queens.
A Daniel Murphy double, David Wright single, and a Duda base hit gave the Mets the two-game sweep at Citi over the Bronx Bombers, and a three-game win streak. That ended what was a magical night, but that was not the only thing to take away from the game. Matt Harvey was phenomenal per usual for the Mets going eight innings giving up just one run on six hits to go along with 10 strikeouts. "Harvey Day" turned into Harvey night after the 90-minute rain delay had the young stud throw the first pitch at 8:40. Fans in left field (including myself) had the big Harvey faces held up as well as "The Real Deal" orange t-shirts to show support for the new ace in orange and blue. While Harvey was dominant, Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda was even better tossing seven shutout innings, while giving up just four hits and striking out seven. The Mets offense was hard to watch the first eight innings against Kuroda and David Robertson.
The one time the Mets did have a runner in scoring position in the 6th inning, it would not last long. Ruben Tejada was picked off at second base after being called safe. Second base umpire Adrian Johnson called the Mets shortstop safe and then immediately called him out in one of the more bizarre decisions ever seen in baseball. Terry Collins came out ferociously to argue the call and was ejected. It is extremely rare that an umpire calls a runner safe and then changes the call to call him out. While Tejada looked out, it was handled poorly by Johnson. The Mets skipper would watch the miraculous comeback from the clubhouse.
The Subway Series. A rain delay. Harvey vs Kuroda. Rivera's final game in Queens. A pitcher's duel. A bizarre play at second base. A manager ejected. History made against the greatest closer in MLB history. A walk off win. Did I forget anything? Mets fans had plenty of reasons to smile Tuesday night in a game that could give this team some momentum when they desperately needed it. The Mets are now winners of three straight for just the second time this season as they head over to the Bronx for two more against their crosstown rivals. They will hope to build on Tuesday's amazin' win as they look for a turnaround after a rough start to the 2013 season.
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