LOST IN THE CITI: Mariano Rivera who threw out the ceremonial first pitch (inset) in his final appearance at Citi Field, watches Lucas Duda’s game-winning hit in the ninth inning of the Mets’ 2-1 victory over the Yankees last night. (Getty Images; Reuters (inset))
First pitch, last pitch. Just not quite as Mariano Rivera envisioned it.
A perfect farewell season blew up suddenly and shockingly for the Yankees’ iconic closer, and suddenly, baseball’s surprise team of 2013 has hit a lull while the Mets have their first three-game winning streak since the season’s first week.
“Everything was great until the ninth,” a sad but smiling Rivera said, after he gave up a lead and let the Mets beat him and the Yankees, 2-1, at Citi Field. “But again, it’s part of the game. I have to come back tomorrow strong and play hard again.”
With a double by Daniel Murphy and singles by David Wright and Lucas Duda, plus help from an error by Brett Gardner, the Mets broke Rivera’s streak of 18 saves in his first 18 opportunities this season and recorded the first time in Rivera’s career when he failed to record an out in a save opportunity. That they did this on a night when Rivera threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch, an act that apparently annoyed a healthy segment of Mets fans, had to make this all the sweeter for the home team.
To be clear, the Mets did the right thing in honoring Rivera before his final regular-season game here in Flushing; he’s a strong bet to pitch in the All-Star Game. Rivera is a New York icon and one of the best players in baseball history. He is a gigantic figure in Subway Series history; he and Derek Jeter share top billing. Additional points go to the Mets for designating their own top closer John Franco to catch the pitch; Franco bowed toward Rivera before crouching, and the two men hugged after completing the relay. It was a fine New York baseball moment.
“It has been great,” Rivera said. “They appreciate what you do. They recognize that. I thank God for that.”
The Mets did right by Rivera just as they did right by top rival Chipper Jones last year, honoring the Braves’ legend on his way out the door. And it’s not like this is strictly the way of the losers. The Yankees honored Baltimore’s Cal Ripken, Jr., back in 2001, and you can bet that, should David Ortiz announce his retirement in advance, the Yankees will properly salute him, too.
The sting surely wore off after the Mets’ unlikely, bottom-of-the-ninth rally, after they did nothing against Yankees starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (seven shutout innings) and setup man David Robertson (a perfect eighth).
Of the three hits, only Wright’s, a bullet up the middle, stood out as particularly well-struck. Murphy did a good job of going with the pitch for his double to left, and Duda actually broke his bat on the flare single to right that scored Wright for the victory. Rivera sounded more upset about his failure to back up home plate on Wright’s single, as Gardner’s throw home evaded catcher Chris Stewart and therefore allowed Wright to advance into scoring position.
“Sometimes you hit a line drive right at people,” Rivera said. “Sometimes a broken bat finds a place to land. That’s the game of baseball.”
To think, it looked like it was going to be a trademark night for these 2013 Yankees, one in which Gardner made another brilliant catch to rob Murphy of extra bases (in the sixth); the Bronx’s most popular fill-in Lyle Overbay drilled a run-scoring single off a dominant Harvey (in the sixth); and Kuroda pitched brilliantly after leaving his previous start with an injury.
In the end, though, this night highlighted just how dangerous a tightrope the Yankees have been walking. Close wins, of which these Yankees have plenty, are near losses. Close losses like this one are near wins.
“Oh, yeah, that thing happens. There’s no excuses,” Rivera said. “They just beat me. Too bad. Kuroda pitched a tremendous game.”
Rivera’s ERA against the Mets is now 3.53, the second-highest against a big-league with only the Angels (3.65) topping it. Maybe that’ll make those Mets fans feel better this morning about honoring this respected opponent.
Or maybe this: Rivera said, afterward, “It was a great game, until I got into the game.”