Chris Young didn’t know the regular season could feel like this.
After spending seven seasons in the apathy of Arizona, Young moved to Oakland, but even the Bay Bridge battles were nothing like the Subway Series.
“It’s another level. It felt like a big college football game,” Young said. “It says a lot about the energy that this game brings. … I think those kind of games, you naturally never give up. You never feel like you’re out of it.”
In a game in which the Mets often looked like they were out of it, Young hurled off any lingering effects of his recent 0-for-18 slump and came through in the clutch for the second straight game, going 2-for-4 and delivering the game-winning, eighth-inning home run in the Mets’ 9-7 win over the Yankees on Monday night.
“We have a lot of fight in us. We’ve had that all year,” Young said. “All it takes is a big hit here and there.”
It was just another game for Mets manager Terry Collins, meaning another game juggling a lineup with more starting outfielders than starting positions.
Even after Young had hit an early ground-rule double, it appeared as if Collins may have made a mistake by starting Young in center field.
With one out and the Mets trailing 5-4 in the sixth inning, Young was unable to track down a Kelly Johnson fly ball, which turned into an RBI triple after he misplayed it. The Yankees would soon lead 7-4.
Thought bubbles were popping up throughout the stadium — Juan Lagares would’ve had it. But two innings later, a display of power erased the memory of speed.
With one out and the score tied at 7, Young rocketed a Preston Claiborne slider to left field — his third homer of the season — giving the Mets a two-run lead and the team’s fourth homer of the night.
“It felt good to hit one and know it was going to leave,” Young said. “You’re just trying to keep the line moving at that point, just something you can hit. You’re thinking single in that situation, try and get a run on the board and get the next guy up to the plate.”
It was Young’s first career home run at Yankee Stadium, one he wouldn’t soon forget.
“You’re in the outfield and you see the rivalry going on,” Young said. “It looks like a big party out there, people just having a good time and people just rooting for their team. That’s what baseball’s all about.”