Bogart and Bergman can have Paris. The Mets took New York.
When the baseball obit writers tell the story of a Mets season that will be stuffed with cold sweats and nightmares, the highlight will be four nights in late May; two at Citi Field and two at Yankee Stadium.
Four Subway Series spring evenings spent beating the reeling Yankees ended in a 3-1 victory Thursday night in front of an announced Stadium crowd of 44,207.
“For us, it was nice to build some confidence because the Yankees have been playing well. They’re obviously a good team,’’ David Wright said. “To come in here and take all four from them, it should give us some confidence moving forward and hopefully we can use that to springboard us into that Miami trip.
“It’s always fun to win this series, especially for our fans. It gives our fans some bragging rights. They get tomorrow at work, to brag a little bit. I’m glad we’re able to give them that. Mets fans come over to support us and they were loud. It was good to hear.’’
The victory was the Mets’ season-high fifth straight. The Subway Sweep was the Mets’ first since the model was introduced in 1997.
Until this year when the series went to four games, it was a six-game deal.
When Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis arrive in The Bronx Friday from the disabled list, they better bring pails and shovels and assist in the bailing effort.
It took until the last week of May before the Yankees’ were exposed as a team attempting to cover up too many holes.
Now, after being swept by the lowly Mets in the four-game Subway Series and riding a season-low, five-game losing streak, the Yankees are in a free fall that might be too fast for Youkilis and Teixeira to reverse.
And blood rival Boston pulls into town for three games starting tonight.
“You know there is a competitive edge in all those guys in that room and it’s hard when you lose to your crosstown rivals,’’ Joe Girardi said. “You don’t want to be part of a team that gets swept by your crosstown rival. Over time, it’s going to happen, but you don’t want to be the team that it happens to.’’
Mets starter Dillon Gee’s last win was May 1, and in the next four outings he went 0-2 and was in danger of heading for the bullpen when Jonathon Niese returns from a sore shoulder and Zack Wheeler is called up. It didn’t matter against a Yankees’ lineup that has scored 14 runs in six games.
When Gee (3-6) departed with one out in the eighth, he had fanned the final five Yankees to hike the career-high to 12. In 7 1/3 innings, he allowed a run, four hits and didn’t issue a walk. It was hard to fathom Gee had a 6.34 ERA when the game started.
“It’s hard to put in words. I needed that on so many levels,’’ said Gee, who tantalized the Yankees with a change-up and stayed out of the middle of the plate with most pitches.
In his third major league start, Vidal Nuno allowed two runs, three hits and two walks. He is 1-2 and a candidate to be demoted today when the Yankees are likely to shed an arm to make room for Teixeira and Youkilis.
“It’s frustrating because we got good enough pitching to win,’’ said Brett Gardner, who had one of the Yankees’ four hits and one of the 14 Ks by Mets hurlers.
Four wins against the Yankees likely will be the highlight of the Mets’ season. What becomes of the Yankees depends on what Youkilis and Teixeira can do to provide a jolt to a lineup in dire need of one.
george.king@nypost.com