Yankees 2, Mets 0, and it wasn't as close as the score makes it sound. Cam Schlittler needed one pitch count and one Brett Baty double to be forgotten entirely, and Ben Rice took care of the rest before most of the crowd had found their seats.
Rice led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot to right off Christian Scott -- his 38th of the year, his third career leadoff homer -- and by the time Austin Wells followed with one of his own in the third, the Mets were already playing from behind a mountain built by two swings. That was it. That was the whole game.
The Turning Point
There wasn't really a turning point so much as an opening statement. Rice's homer came on a 1-2 pitch, 333 feet to right, and it flipped the win probability by nearly 10 points before the Mets' leadoff man in the bottom of the inning had even walked to the plate. Two innings later, Wells did it again -- 392 feet to right-center, and suddenly Scott was searching for outs in a hole he never climbed out of.
(Wells, for what it's worth, had been ice cold for weeks. That homer snapped an 0-for-20 skid. Nothing like a laser to right-center to fix a slump.)
Star of the Game
Schlittler.
Six innings, one hit, eight strikeouts, two walks, and the only baserunner who mattered was a two-out double from Baty in the fifth that went nowhere. Ninety-four pitches, sixty of them strikes -- the Mets simply didn't have an answer for him.
It's the third time in 45 career starts Schlittler has allowed one hit or none, and the second time this season. His ERA now sits at 1.95, tied with Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski for the best mark in the majors. Say that name out loud a few times. Cam Schlittler, MLB ERA leader. Nobody saw that coming in spring training (nobody saw a lot of what 2026 turned into, honestly).
Key At-Bats and the Pen Behind Him
Christian Scott wasn't bad, either -- six innings, seven strikeouts, and the only damage was the two solo shots. That's the kind of start that loses you a lot of games against this lineup and this pitcher on the other side.
The ninth got a little interesting. Juan Soto -- yes, that Juan Soto, the one who used to patrol right field in the Bronx -- struck out swinging to lead off the inning against his old club, then went hitless the rest of the way (0-for-4, two K's on the day). Bo Bichette singled with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate, but Carson Benge grounded into a fielder's choice and Jared Young flew out to center to end it. David Bednar picked up his 34th save in 37 chances, and Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn each logged a hold bridging the gap between Schlittler and the ninth.
Not everybody had a day. Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, which happens (even to him, even in September). Nobody on this roster is going to lose sleep over one cold afternoon in a game the pitching staff had covered from the first inning on.
A 21-minute rain delay slowed things down early, and 45,508 packed the Stadium anyway on a gray Sunday to watch a pitchers' duel that only one side actually won.
Taking the Series
The Yanks dropped Game 2 of this set 12-2 -- an ugly one, best forgotten -- but bookended it with a 6-4 win Friday and Sunday's shutout to take the Subway Series 2-1. That's 18-8 over their last 26 games, and at 86-63 they're four back of the Rays in the East with three weeks left to play. The postseason math keeps getting friendlier by the day.
Go find out what Minnesota's got Monday.
Jimmy writes the Bronx Pinstripes game recap after every Yankees game. Beat-reporter pacing, fan's heartbeat. He calls opposing players by last name and has no patience for dead-air innings.
