Mets' bats fall short despite Juan Soto's three walks in 6-2 loss to Yankees

Big night for Yankees fans at the first Subway Series game of the 2025 season – they got to “welcome” Mets star Juan Soto back to the Bronx and celebrate a victory.

The Yankees beat the Mets, 6-2, on Friday night in front of 47,700 fans, the biggest crowd of the season so far at Yankee Stadium. The win upped the Yanks’ record to 26-18 and dropped the Mets to 28-17.

Carlos Rodón threw five good innings and the Yankees took advantage of Tylor Megill’s wildness to beat the Mets for the first time since the 2023 season. The Mets swept four games from their crosstown rival last year. 

Soto was booed loudly each time he came to the plate. In the first inning, he doffed his batting helmet to fans and nodded while looking at different parts of the ballpark he called home in 2024. Over the winter, Soto split for a $765 million free-agent contract with the Mets, leaving Yankees fans unhappy.

Here are the main takeaways…

— Megill had his worst start of the season so far, allowing four earned runs in only 2.2 innings. The Mets’ righty was wild, walking a season-worst five batters, including four in the Yankees’ four-run third inning. One of the batters he walked in the inning scored and he walked Oswald Peraza, the No. 8 hitter, with the bases loaded to force in another run.

With all that traffic, the Yankees put some soft contact to use and took advantage of Francisco Lindor’s seventh error of the season. Megill’s numbers have sagged after a wonderful start to his season. He had a 1.09 ERA in his first five starts, but has allowed 15 earned runs across his last four outings (18.2 innings), a 7.23 ERA. 

— Rodón, meanwhile, fared much better. But his pitch count soared, robbing him of a chance to work deeper into the game. The veteran lefty threw 102 pitches over five innings, allowing only one run and two hits. He struck out five and walked four and induced 15 swings and misses.

He was on the verge of a major wobble in the fourth — one run was in already and the bases were loaded with two out for Luisangel Acuña. But Rodón retired the rookie on a fly to right to end the threat. Rodón, who’s battled inconsistency during stretches of his Yankee tenure, is in a nice groove now. After starting the season with a 5.48 ERA, he’s only allowed seven earned runs in 36.2 innings across his last six starts, a 1.15 ERA.

— Subway shade? The extremely-loud speakers at Yankee Stadium blasted “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos after Pete Alonso struck out swinging in the fifth. Met fans might recognize that tune as Alonso’s walk-up song at Citi Field.

— Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga, who was activated from the injured list before the game, made his season debut in relief of Rodón. The veteran righty could be a huge weapon in their bullpen, as he threw a scoreless sixth inning, pitching around a one-out double by Brandon Nimmo.

— There was an interesting pitcher-hitter matchup in the Mets’ eighth inning. Alonso led off against the Yankees’ Devin Williams. Alonso hit a crucial home run off Williams in the Mets’ playoff series victory over the Brewers last October. This time, Williams, who struggled as the Yankees’ closer earlier this season and was shifted to a setup role, caught Alonso looking at a called strike three.

— Cody Bellinger went 3-for-5 for the Yankees, producing a double and two runs scored. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 — lifting his average two points to .414 — and also scored twice, while Paul Goldschmidt finished 2-for-4 with two RBI.

— The Mets were just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. They entered the game ranked 25th in MLB with a .224 average with runners in scoring position, although they were ranked slightly higher in OPS with RISP (.715) at 17th.

— Lindor doubled in a run in the ninth off Yerry de los Santos to cut the Mets’ deficit to four. The hit also forced the Yankees to turn to their closer, Luke Weaver, for the final out. Weaver got Soto to fly out to end the game.

Game MVP: Carlos Rodón

We’re tempted to say Soto, who looked like he was channeling some of his old swagger. He was 0-for-2 but walked three times and scored once. But the accolade belongs to Rodón, who improved to 5-3 and lowered his ERA to 3.17.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets will play the middle game of their Subway Series against the Yankees on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05.

Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.36 ERA) is slated to take the mound, opposite Clarke Schmidt (1-1, 4.73 ERA).

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