What a day for Bay

You don't want to say the 2011 Mets' season rested in the unsteady bat of Jason Bay late Sunday afternoon. Let's not oversell it.

But by golly, it sure felt that way at a wet, emptying-out Citi Field. And that sensation only intensified in a happy Mets clubhouse after their come-from-behind, Mariano Rivera-defying, sweep-preventing 3-2, 10-inning Subway Series victory over the Yankees.

"It could've been this 'here we go again' atmosphere," said Bay, who drew a rally-starting walk in the ninth and singled home Scott Hairston in the 10th to win the game. "Down two outs and two strikes to Rivera in the ninth, it's just one of those things that don't happen very often.

"Hopefully, in a perfect world, you'd think that would create some momentum."

This began as a Holiday Weekend of Good Feelings for New York baseball, and it came very close to turning into a Mets burial. Jose Reyes left Saturday's game with a strained left hamstring and R.A. Dickey left Sunday's game with tightness in his left glute, and when the Yankees took a 2-1 lead against Jason Isringhausen in the top of the eighth, it appeared that the Mets would head to the West Coast carrying a four-game losing streak and a 41-43 record.

Reyes might not miss much time, perhaps even playing again before the All-Star break, and Dickey professed optimism that he will be all right. But those developments would've provided little solace had the Yankees recorded six more outs before giving up a run.

In this characteristically wacky Mets season, it figured that Bay, the profound free-agent disappointment, saved the day after Rivera retired the first two Mets batters in the ninth.

With some previous success against Rivera -- two hits in seven at-bats, including a tying homer in 2009 during his Red Sox stint -- Bay worked the count to 3-and-1, swung through strike two and looked at a cutter just a bit outside for ball four. He advanced to third on Lucas Duda's single to rightfield and scored the tying run on pinch hitter Ronny Paulino's single to rightfield on a 1-and-2 pitch.

"I'm going out there looking for something out over the plate, and obviously, he's one of those guys that for the most part you know what you're going to get," Bay said. "It still doesn't do you a lot of good. He's still getting guys out with it.

"At 3-and-1, I had a pitch I thought I could handle, came out of my shoes, tried to do too much. That's when I got to 3-and-2 and was like, 'All right, try to hit a single. Don't try to hit a homer. Keep the line moving.' "

With two outs and the bases loaded in the 10th, Joe Girardi lifted lefty Boone Logan for righthander Hector Noesi to go after Bay, who responded by lining the winning single to right-centerfield.

The odds of the Mets coming back to prevail were about the same as . . . well . . . Bay being as astoundingly bad as he has for the Mets since signing a four-year, $66-million deal in January 2010. But he finally has picked up his play, with 22 hits in his last 64 at-bats. And given how much his teammates respect him, his progress represents a spiritual lift in addition to the actual increased production.

"This is enormous," Terry Collins said. "To have the game we had, to battle to the end and score off Mariano, it doesn't happen very often. And then you get the one guy that we need to get going and have him get a big hit for us."

Still plenty of season to go, still a mountain of challenges for these pesky Mets. But they allowed themselves a moment to smile Sunday before boarding their flight to Los Angeles. And no one smiled wider than Bay.