The skies opened in the bottom of the fifth. Seconds after Francisco Alvarez’s RBI double, there was no drizzle but a zero-to-100 downpour that led to an 87-minute deluge delay.
It was appropriate on a night the Mets brought the thunder, and the Yankees were soaked.
The Subway Series reinforced what had been true a few days ago: The Mets are rolling, and the Yankees have been derailed.
Carlos Mendoza’s group kept on chugging in a 12-2 destruction of Aaron Boone’s club on Wednesday, completing a two-game sweep in front of a sellout crowd of 43,004 at Citi Field that left both teams heading in opposite directions.
The Mets (39-39) have won 15 of 19 and moved to .500 for the first time since they were 18-18 on May 7.
The Yankees (52-30), who lost just three of their first 22 series this year, now have dropped four straight series and eight of 10 games.
The Mets own an increasingly relentless offense that is punishing opposing pitching staffs.
A lineup that suddenly has no weakness, both imposing at the top and lengthy at the bottom, has averaged 8.1 runs in its past nine games.
They blasted seven home runs in two days against the Yankees.
Each night seems to bring a different set of heroes: Alvarez homered and drove in three; Tyrone Taylor’s three-run homer turned a contest into a crushing; and Harrison Bader, well, poured it on with a seventh-inning solo shot.
The Yankees’ lineup issues have been laid bare, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto unable to prop up a group that is lacking even a third option, much less a bottom of the order.
Non-Judge and -Soto hitters went a combined 8-for-55 (.145) with eight walks and no extra-base hits in the two-game set.
Just as worrisome for the Yankees has been the rotation issues that this two-game set exposed.
After Gerrit Cole was knocked around with diminished velocity Tuesday, his ace of a replacement for the first few months was unimpressive for a second straight start.
Luis Gil’s ERA has spiked a full run, from 2.03 to 3.15, in two outings.
After his dud against the Orioles last week, the rookie righty again struggled with his control in allowing five runs on four hits and four walks in 4 ¹/₃ innings.
After flirting with danger for a few innings, Gil succumbed to the Mets’ bats in the third.
J.D. Martinez poked a single into right field to drive in Francisco Lindor.
Two batters later, Alvarez cracked a two-run shot to right field and raised his arm rounding first, jump-starting what became a rain-interrupted party in Queens.
The Mets did not need much more from the offense, but got plenty on the other side of the delay.
In the fifth, the Mets scored on a bases-loaded walk to Mark Vientos and a sac fly from Jeff McNeil before Bader lined an RBI double.
After Judge blasted a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to bring the Yankees within 7-2, the Mets answered with a two-out rally against Yoendrys Gomez in the bottom of the inning, Taylor’s laser to left draining any possible remaining drama.
A few big innings was more than enough to sink the Yankees, who finished with six hits.
Sean Manaea navigated through danger for five scoreless innings (two hits, five walks) before his pitch count and the storm delay knocked him out.
Three Mets relievers, including the final three innings from Adrian Houser, finished the job.
The Yankees’ best chance, for a second straight night, arrived in the first.
For the second straight night, the Yankees loaded the bases with fewer than two outs.
And for a second straight night, the Yankees were unable to push even one run across, this time Alex Verdugo bouncing into a double play.
The Mets could see daylight.
The Yankees’ outlook was as ominous as the clouds that were to come.