Subway Series: Mets' Jeff McNeil's go-ahead two-run HR in seventh sends Yanks to fifth straight loss

The Mets and Yankees reconvened the Subway Series on Friday afternoon and put on a show apropos of being played on Independence Day. There were plenty of fireworks — seven home runs between the two teams — and even a hot dog.

The Mets and Yankees, in serious funks since June 13 that cost each club first place in its division, waged a back-and-forth battle before the Mets’ Jeff McNeil got in the final shot.

His two-out, two-run homer into the second deck in rightfield off Luke Weaver in the seventh inning produced the final lead change and gave the Mets a 6-5 victory before 41,216 at Citi Field.

After McNeil connected, he effusively celebrated the moment with gestures to his teammates in the dugout as he trotted toward first base.

“The homer was sick,” he said. “I love hitting homers and I don’t hit that many .  .  . [and] I’d just hit a home run to take the lead .  .  . I enjoyed that one.”

McNeil wasn’t done making big plays to get the Mets the win. With one out in the ninth, he ranged to his left in the hole between second and first, making a diving stop to rob DJ LeMahieu of a single. The ball essentially was past him when he snared it, gathered himself and made a clean throw to first base.

Pulling off the defensive gem elicited another emotional McNeil reaction and kept reliever Reed Garrett from having to face Aaron Judge. “Jeff was fired up there,” Garrett said.

McNeil’s ninth home run also negated the impact of Jasson Dominguez’s two-homer, three-RBI performance for the Yankees. His second homer was a two-run shot that put the Yankees ahead 5-3 in the fifth.

The Mets, who have won three straight for the first time since completing a three-game sweep of Washington on June 12, are beginning to feel like a team that has turned the page on the brutal three-week stretch in which they lost 14 of 17.

The Yankees have lost five straight and 14 of their last 20.

Relief pitching has been an issue for both teams recently, but the Mets’ bullpen performed better on this day, even though closer Edwin Diaz was unavailable after pitching the previous two days.

Huascar Brazoban pitched a scoreless seventh and Garrett, who had a 15.00 ERA and three blown saves in his previous eight appearances, got the final six outs.

“I was thinking about getting the first guy out and then .  .  . getting the guy out behind him,” Garrett said. “I wasn’t trying to think six outs — one pitch at a time, one hitter at a time and try to close out the eighth. And if I had to go back out for the ninth, close out the ninth.”

Carlos Mendoza said, “Good to see, especially after what he went through the past couple of weeks.”

Garrett, who gave up four runs without getting an out on June 20 against the Phillies, allowed four runs and recorded only two outs on Wednesday against Milwaukee.

The usually reliable Weaver, trying to regain his form after returning June 20 from a hamstring strain, has allowed a home run in each of his last three appearances.

“I don’t think what I am doing is far off — I feel like I am not winning in big moments,” Weaver said. “I feel like dating back to earlier this year . . . I won more big moments than lost them.”

Juan Soto had three hits, including a two-run homer in the first off Marcus Stroman that negated the back-to-back solo homers by Dominguez and Judge in the top of the frame. He also doubled and scored on Pete Alonso’s single in the third.

When the teams played in the Bronx, Soto went 1-for-10 with four walks in three games.

“Juan responded right away, kind of getting the momentum right back,” Mendoza said. “That was kind of like a setting-the-tone moment. They punch. We’re going to punch back. Here we are.”

“Any time you’re coming through for the team, it’s always great [especially] when you put the team back into the game after giving up the two runs there,” Soto said.

Dominguez, who hit leadoff for the second time this season, is batting .457 (16-for-35) with six RBIs in his last eight games.

“This is who I feel like he is as a hitter,” Aaron Boone said. “We’ve seen this over the years and kind of had this expectation for him. But I just feel like the at-bat quality is [there] . . . on that daily basis.”

With their pitching staff decimated by injuries, the Mets gave career minor-leaguer Justin Hagenman his first major-league start, and he gave up three solo homers. The third, by Cody Bellinger, tied the score at 3 in the fourth.

Hagenman allowed four runs and five hits in 4 1⁄3 innings. Austin Warren came on to face Dominguez and gave up a two-run home run.

Stroman allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out four and walking one.

“This is what you expect out of games like this: Subway Series, packed house, fan bases intense [and] going after each other,” Mendoza said. “I’m glad we got the job done.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.