September 13, 2021

Schadenfreude 317 (A Continuing Series)

Deesha Thosar, Daily News:

Francisco Lindor stole the show and the game with his signature Mets moment – a three home-run night – to send the Amazin's to a 7-6 win over the Yankees on Sunday at Citi Field. Lindor became the first player to crush three home runs in a Subway Series matchup, and he settled a heated feud between the Mets and Yankees by letting his bat do the talking.

Lindor's solo home run off Chad Green in the eighth inning went to the second deck in right field to break the tied game and give the Mets the lead. . . .

The benches cleared in the top of the seventh inning after Giancarlo Stanton mashed a game-tying two-run home run off Brad Hand. Stanton rounded second base and stopped to say something to Lindor at shortstop. The two All-Stars jawed at each other as dugouts and bullpens emptied. Stanton eventually turned around and finished his home-run trot while his teammates crowded around Lindor and Javier Baez. Brett Gardner gave a thumbs down in Baez's and Lindor's direction, referencing the controversy that took place late last month. . . .

Lindor started the taunting on Sunday in the sixth inning, after he crushed his second home run of the game to extend the Mets lead. He blew a whistle at the Yankees during his trip around the bases, apparently mocking the Bombers for blowing whistles during Saturday's game. The Yankees reportedly picked up on Taijuan Walker tipping his pitches in the first inning Saturday before third baseman Jonathan Villar alerted the Mets pitcher of the opposing team's tactics. . . .

Lindor said he wasn't accusing the Yankees of whistling, but felt like something out of the ordinary was going on, and he "took that personally." And that's why, as Lindor passed Gleyber Torres on his second home run, he told him: "Keep on whistling." Stanton, though, said it was pitcher Wandy Peralta on Sunday who was whistling.

Greg Joyce, Post:

The Yankees whistled while they worked, and the Subway Series turned testy as a result.

It came to a head during the seventh inning of Sunday's 7-6 Mets win, when Giancarlo Stanton hit a game-tying, two-run home run and slowed down after he passed second base to exchange words with Francisco Lindor, leading to the benches clearing before Stanton even touched home.

Lindor had jabbered at the Yankees as he rounded the bases during his second home run of the night in the bottom of the sixth, delivering a whistling gesture towards their dugout and then appearing to do the same toward pitcher Wandy Peralta. . . .

While the Mets believed the Yankees may have been whistling to identify pitches that Taijuan Walker was tipping on Saturday, according to ESPN, the Yankees pinned the whistling to Peralta. . . .

After both dugouts and bullpens cleared, players got face-to-face in a crowd around third base, but they left with only words and more gestures being exchanged.

Brett Gardner appeared to mock Lindor by flashing him two thumbs down — two weeks after Lindor and Javier Baez created a stir by using the gesture as a celebration to boo back at the fans. . . .

Stanton and Boone both said the Yankees were not whistling to identify pitches.

Mike Puma, Post:

Francisco Lindor silenced the Yankees in a manner even stronger than attempting to mock their whistling from the dugout. . . .

It marked the 15th time in franchise history a Mets player homered three times in a game. Lindor finished with five RBIs in helping the Mets win four of six games against their city rival this season. . . .

This 4-hour 6-minute drama wasn't complete until Edwin Diaz retired Giancarlo Stanton on a pop-up to Lindor with runners on second and third. . . .

The Yankees lost for the eighth time in nine games and fell one game behind in the race for the AL's second wild-card berth.

Ken Davidoff, Post:

The Yankees displayed a lot of fight here, in multiple ways. Can they carry that forward? . . .

It is a grueling stretch, the Yankees (79-64) now 3-11 in their last 14, and with the Blue Jays (80-63) winning and Red Sox (81-64), they stand outside the October dance at the moment. Yet in their past two games, the Yankees defied their image, crafted by many of their own spoiled fans, of being a bunch of robots.

For when Giancarlo Stanton tied the game with a two-run blast in the seventh inning . . . he didn't make it around the bases without a pit stop, offering some words to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor . . . that sparked both benches to clear.

Brett Gardner, feisty until the end, gave the thumbs-down signal to the Mets, a hilarious reference to Mets' recent decision to turn on their fans. . . .

With 19 games left, the Yankees' schedule features some oases, specifically their next 10 games . . . Then it closes murderously: Three at the Red Sox, three at the Blue Jays and three at home against the Rays. Wow. Talk about a final exam.

Which means that the Yankees, having lost 11 of their last 14 tilts, had best prey on the weak. They failed to do that over Labor Day weekend when the Orioles came to The Bronx and took two of three. Yet if this weekend produced another series loss, their fourth straight, it produced some better vibes . . .

Vibes don't pay the bills, though. The Yankees can't afford many losses . . . It's on them to keep bringing the fight.

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

Gleyber Torres came into this season with many questioning whether he was the Yankees shortstop of the future. . . . [On Monday] Torres was moved to second base for the foreseeable future because of how the pressure of his all-too frequent mistakes weighed on him. . . .

That comes on the heels of Torres committing two errors over the three-game series in Queens against the Mets. He has 18 errors this season, the third most by a shortstop in MLB in 2021. . . .

Torres had a breakout season playing almost half the year at shortstop in 2019 . . . [That] was enough for the Yankees to overlook his defensive woes [and] let Didi Gregorious walk in free agency . . .

[Torres] showed up after the COVID-19 spring training shutdown [in 2020] out of shape . . . This season he is slashing .252/.323/.352 with a .676 OPS.

Dan Martin, Post:

The freefalling Yankees are remaking their infield on the fly with three weeks left in the regular season, finally moving Gleyber Torres over to second base. . . .

With Torres at second — at least for the time being — DJ LeMahieu will see more time at third base . . . Tyler Wade is starting at short on Monday . . . [manager Aaron] Boone added Gio Urshela would get more time at short for the time being. . . .

Boone is also looking for something — anything — to turn his team around after losing eight of nine and seeing them fall out of a playoff spot. 

by allan at 11:37 AM
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