The New York Mets and New York Yankees were locked in a tight battle through eight innings of their series finale on Sunday — until a costly miscue changed everything.
With the game tied, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso committed a throwing error in the eighth inning that allowed the Yankees to break the deadlock. From there, the Yankees capitalized, adding five more runs in the inning to pull away and ultimately win 8-2, clinching the Subway Series victory.
After the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza didn’t shy away from addressing Pete Alonso’s costly error, expressing clear frustration with the miscue.
Mendoza acknowledged the significance of the mistake in what had been a tightly contested game and suggested that Alonso needs to make that play — especially in a high-pressure situation like the late innings of a rivalry series.
While he didn’t directly call Alonso out in harsh terms, Mendoza’s comments made it clear that the error played a major role in the game’s collapse, and that cleaner execution is expected from one of the team’s veteran leaders.
Pete Alonso Takes Blame
In the bottom of the eighth inning on May 18, with the game tied 2-2 and runners on second and third, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso fielded a hard grounder from rookie Jorbit Vivas. Seeing Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez charging home, Alonso opted to throw to the plate.
Though Alonso seemed to have enough time to get Dominguez out, his throw went wild, sailing past the catcher and into the backstop, allowing the Yankees to score the go-ahead run.
After the game, Mendoza said Alonso could have gotten Dominguez out if he had made a better throw.
“From my view, a good throw would’ve had him,” Mendoza said, via The Athletic.
Alonso, who’s been playing at an MVP-caliber level through the first seven weeks of the season, didn’t shy away from taking responsibility. He openly admitted the error was his fault — and that the loss fell on him as well.
“I messed it up,” Alonso said. “I just made an awful throw. That whole inning, this game, is on me. This one’s 100 percent on me.”
Yankees Broke Game Open After Pete Alonso Error
Jorbit Vivas entered the game as a defensive substitute but found himself battling during his eighth-inning at-bat. After the game, he told reporters he was focused on simply making contact against the hard-throwing Mets reliever Ryan Stanek.
“He’s throwing 100 miles, so I don’t want to do too much,” Vivas said, via the New York Daily News. “I just want to put the ball in play and help the team.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Vivas for his approach but added that he believed Jasson Dominguez might have scored regardless, even if Alonso’s throw had been on target.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Vivas’s at-bat, saying, “What an AB, man. You could see his adjustment. By the third or fourth pitch, you felt him settle in and calm down.
“We got a break with the throw, though I’m not sure it mattered—Jasson was coming down the line so fast.”
Alonso’s throwing error opened the floodgates for the Yankees, who had been mostly quiet before the eighth inning. After an RBI single from Paul Goldschmidt, the hot-hitting Cody Bellinger stepped up with the bases loaded and crushed a grand slam off Mets pitcher Genesis Cabrera.
Despite the dramatic Subway Series loss, the Mets remain half a game ahead of the surging Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The defeat dropped their record to 29-18, tying them with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most wins in the National League.
With the win, the Yankees extended their lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, improving their record to 27-19.
