NEW YORK – Aaron Judge equalized on the board in the eighth inning, using his second homer in the duel, and the New York Yankees then took advantage of a mistake by Javier Báez to beat the Mets of the same city 8-7 on Saturday.
The meeting took place after an emotional ceremony for the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The Yankees cut a seven-game losing streak. They had lost 11 of 13 duels after racking up 13 wins that placed them as leaders in the fight for the first wildcard passage to the playoffs in the American League.
They are now tied with Toronto in the competition for the second wild-card. The Tiles swept a double billboard in front of Baltimore on Saturday.
The Mets followed five games behind Atlanta, the leader of the Eastern Division of the National League. The Braves fell to the Marlins on Saturday.
In the fight for the last wild card, the Mets are four games behind the Reds and Fathers.
The Yankees took the lead 5-0 shortly after the pre-match tribute. Then they allowed the front to escape. James McCann hit a two-run homer that put the Mets up 6-5 in the sixth inning.
The Mets added a run against Clay Holmes (7-3), before Judge tied with his two-lap firewood against Trevor May (7-3). The ball remained in the air for almost seven seconds before landing on the other side of the left field fence, in the eighth inning without outs.
Five batters later, reliever Aaron Loup caused emerging Luke Voit to hit 1 roulette that seemed ideal for a double kill. Puerto Rican Báez missed his shot from the middle, sending the ball into the local dugout.
Andrew Velázquez scored the 8-7.
For the Yankees, the Venezuelan Gleyber Torres 4-2 with a score. Colombian Gio Urshela 3-0.
For the Mets, the Dominican Jonathan Villar 5-0. Puerto Ricans Francisco Lindor 4-0, Báez 4-2 with three goals and one push. The Venezuelan Luis Guillorme 1-0.