4th of July, subway series, New York Yankees, New York Mets, 7/04/2021

Yanks needed win -- historic outing seals one Green's perfect 3-inning, 6-K save ends with immaculate frame against Mets Chad Green reared back and dotted the top of the strike zone, a heater that Jonathan Villar waved at. The Yankees reliever pounded his right fist into his glove, perhaps not realizing that he’d just completed an immaculate inning, but well aware that it had been an important performance. Following an afternoon in which the Yankees blew a late lead and weathered one of their most deflating defeats of the season, Green helped restore order. The right-hander’s three perfect innings sealed a 4-2 victory over the Mets, as the Yanks took the nightcap of Sunday’s Subway Series seven-inning doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. With fireworks echoing around the South Bronx, Green struck out Michael Conforto, pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil and Villar on nine pitches in the breezy seventh. According to STATS, Green became the first pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to pitch three perfect innings, strike out six batters and have an immaculate inning in the same game. Green tossed two pitches in Game 1 of the twin bill, before yielding to closer Aroldis Chapman, who blew a save opportunity in a 10-5 loss that saw the Mets bat around for six seventh-inning runs. The Yankees bounced back, as Gio Urshela slugged an opposite-field three-run blast off Corey Oswalt that provided most of their offensive production, supporting a strong spot start by Nestor Cortes Jr. Described by Boone as someone who “pitches without fear,” Cortes’ funky, unpredictable delivery kept the Mets guessing into the fourth inning. “This was huge,” said Cortes, who struck out four in 3 1/3 frames of one-run ball. “We had to come out and salvage this series. It’s super important that we got the job done.” Dominic Smith chased Cortes with a one-out double in the fourth, and Pete Alonso greeted Darren O’Day with a two-run homer, his second long ball of the doubleheader. But O’Day escaped without further damage. Brett Gardner dashed home on a fifth-inning wild pitch for an important insurance run. Boone explained that he preferred Chapman in the Game 1 save situation because he believed Green would be needed for length, a blueprint that worked perfectly. The Mets did not get a ball out of the infield against Green, who could be considered as a fill-in closer while Chapman tries to figure out his ongoing issues with fastball command. "Chad Green did an amazing job,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “That guy pitching both games, that's something special. That doesn't happen often now in baseball."