Mets thump Yanks again, climb back to .500

NEW YORK — A few hours before Wednesday’s Subway Series finale at Citi Field, as Francisco Lindor returned to the dugout following his final round of batting practice, the Mets shortstop saw owner Steve Cohen standing nearby, walked over, and clapped him on the shoulder.

Turning to face him, Cohen smiled. “Back to .500 today?” he said.

“One at a time,” Lindor replied.

It was, Cohen said later, rather remarkable that the Mets had even put themselves in position to return to a .500 record, which they secured with a 12-2 win over the Yankees in a rain-soaked Subway Series finale. As recently as the morning of June 3, the Mets were 11 games under .500, prompting many to wonder which players the club might deal away at the Trade Deadline.

But the season, Cohen noted at the time, is long. There was little reason for the Mets to be rash. As unlikely as it might have seemed back then, the possibility of a Mets renaissance was always quite real.

Francisco Alvarez furthered it Wednesday night with a two-run homer and a run-scoring double, falling a triple shy of the cycle, while Tyrone Taylor hit a three-run shot in the sixth and Harrison Bader tacked on a solo shot in the seventh to seal things for the Mets, who have won 15 of their last 19 games.