The New York Mets might not be able to climb out of the hole they’ve dug over the first quarter of the season.
But Saturday night was evidence that the Mets might be resilient enough to mount the effort.
The Mets will look to close out a homestand in encouraging fashion Sunday afternoon when they host the New York Yankees in the rubber game of the season’s first Subway Series.
Freddy Peralta (3-3, 3.10 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 5.19).
The Mets evened the series Saturday night, when Mark Vientos had three RBIs and Luke Weaver recorded six high-pressure outs in a 6-3 win.
The Mets improved to 4-1 on the homestand one night after they were shaken by the loss of starting pitcher Clay Holmes, who suffered a broken right fibula when he was hit by Spencer Jones’ comebacker in the fourth inning of the Yankees’ 5-2 win.
Seven members of the Opening Day roster are on the injured list for the Mets, who are in last place in the National League East at 19-26. But the news regarding Holmes was doubly stunning given his status as the staff’s veteran leader and his ability to record four more outs Friday before he departed and underwent X-rays that revealed the break.
“(Friday) night was tough for all of us in there in the clubhouse,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
The mood was much lighter thanks to a collective effort Saturday, when the Mets forced six Yankees hurlers to throw a combined 173 pitches while five of their pitchers combined on a nine-hitter.
Weaver, the fourth pitcher, inherited a bases-loaded jam with the Mets ahead 5-3 in the seventh. He retired the next three batters before working a one-hit eighth.
“We’ve got 26 big league players that are more than capable to turn this thing around even though we’ve been facing a lot of adversity,” Mendoza said. “So to go out there and play a game like that and get the job done, it’s just fun to watch and good to see it from the boys.”
The loss put the Yankees in danger of suffering their third straight series loss after opening the season by going 9-2-1 in their first 12 series.
The Yankees were held to three runs or fewer Saturday for the seventh time in the last 10 games. They lead the AL with 231 runs but haven’t won a game when scoring fewer than four runs since April 28, when they edged the Texas Rangers 3-2.
The Yankees stranded 11 runners, one shy of their season high, and left at least two runners on in an inning five different times. They were also just 3 of 15 with runners in scoring position.
The last five Yankees to step to the plate Saturday made six outs on just 19 pitches.
“We had a chance to take it right there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, referring to the seventh inning. “And we just couldn’t break through.”
Peralta earned the win in his most recent start last Tuesday, when he allowed two runs over six innings as the Mets beat the Detroit Tigers 10-2. Rodriguez, who was recalled Saturday from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre to replace the injured Max Fried, last pitched for the Yankees on May 5, when he didn’t factor into the decision after allowing three runs over 4 2/3 innings in the Yankees’ 7-4 win over the Texas Rangers.
Peralta lost his lone previous appearance against the Yankees on March 27, 2025, when he gave up two runs over five innings for the Milwaukee Brewers in a 4-2 loss. Rodriguez, who is making his third big league start Sunday, has never faced the Mets.
–Field Level Media
