NEW YORK — On an emotional night, the Mets had the momentum and the lead. In front of a national audience and a sellout crowd, they authored the perfect comeback for a day of this magnitude.
In heartbreaking fashion, the Mets saw the game slip away late.
They had a simple inning-ending double play, but Javier Báez sailed the throw to first base and the go-ahead run scored for the Yankees. That gut punch followed another from Aaron Judge, who hammered a game-tying, two-run home run — his second of the night — off Trevor May.
On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Yankees scored three runs in the eighth inning and stunned the Mets, 8-7, on Saturday at Citi Field. Not only did the Mets (71-72) miss out on a monumental win on a special night, but they hurt their postseason chances by not gaining ground in the standings.
Before that fatal eighth inning, the Mets had shown heart, fight and energy. They overcame an early deficit. Their pitching had shut down the Yankees after Taijuan Walker’s rough start to his outing. They had all the ingredients for a victory, except the one that has often eluded them this season: the ability to finish.
The Mets came agonizingly close, too. They left the tying run at third in the ninth when McCann, facing Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, flew out to right field to end the game. An inning before, the Mets had two on for Pete Alonso, who put a charge into a ball that eventually died at the warning track for the final out of the inning.
