NEW YORK — As soon as the Major League Baseball schedule was released last year, the Fourth of July jumped off the page. In addition to the usual pomp and circumstance of the holiday weekend, the schedule promised a Subway Series matchup between the Mets and Yankees. It would be difficult to imagine a regular-season game with more juice.
By the time the actual event came around, however, things had changed. Both the Mets and Yankees were stuck in weeks-long slumps. One of them would need to emerge.
Through one game, the Mets have proven up for the challenge. Jeff McNeil hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning Friday at Citi Field, and Juan Soto finished a triple shy of the cycle in a 6-5 victory over the Yankees.
After Jasson Domínguez and Aaron Judge led off the game with consecutive homers, Soto answered with a two-run blast. The teams continued punching and counterpunching until McNeil finally put the Mets ahead with a two-run shot off Luke Weaver in the seventh.
The Mets are 2-2 against the Yankees this season. They’ve won three games in a row overall.
