The homer, Judge’s first hit of the night, crashed into the upper deck in left at Target Field. The first-inning solo blast off of Twins ace Pablo López traveled 467 feet at 113 mph and gave the Yankees an early lead in a series-clinching victory.

AARON JUDGE HITS ONE 467 FEET! pic.twitter.com/jBTKbZVbf4

— MLB (@MLB) May 15, 2024

Judge, who also drove in a run with a seventh-inning double, had slashed .371/.500/.829 with four doubles, four homers and nine RBI over his last 10 games prior to Wednesday. The center fielder, battling some early-season struggles, was hitting .197 with a .725 OPS before that stretch.

Judge is now batting .255 with a .926 OPS following Wednesday’s performance. He’s leading the Yankees with 11 dingers, and his 29 RBI ranks second on the team.

While Judge provided the slugging, the Yankees scored their second run in the second inning when Anthony Volpe flew out to Minnesota’s Willi Castro for the second out of the frame. However, Castro thought he had corralled the third out and began jogging toward the Twins’ dugout. The boneheaded play — one of several defensive mistakes Castro has made this series — allowed Gleyber Torres to tag up and score.

The Yankees plated their third run in the third inning when Giancarlo Stanton picked up a broken-bat single.

That was the last run charged to the right-handed López, who totaled 6.1 innings, 10 hits, three earned runs, zero walks and three strikeouts over 96 pitches.

While the Yankees knocked López around, Marcus Stroman kept the Twins scoreless for six strong innings.

The righty walked three and only struck out two, but Stroman permitted just two hits over 91 pitches. Two of those walks came in the second inning, when Stroman also worked around a Volpe fielding error.

Stroman, off in his last few starts, now has a 3.33 ERA this season.

The Yankees and Twins will wrap up their series with a matinée on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and will be thrown by Minnesota’s Joe Ryan.

The right-hander has a 3.21 ERA through eight starts this season.

Clarke Schmidt will start the finale for the Yankees. The righty matched the longest start of his career last time out, logging 6.2 scoreless innings against the Rays on May 10.

Schmidt has a 2.95 ERA after eight starts.

Kahnle Getting Closer

Tommy Kahnle (delayed throwing program) is scheduled to make two more rehab appearances this week, according to the New York Post. Kahnle will throw on Thursday, his first time on one day’s rest, before pitching again on Sunday.

From there, it’s possible Kahnle joins the Yankees’ active roster for the first time this season.

But then it all unraveled for the lefty in the fifth inning.

A four-run fifth did the Mets and Lucchesi in for the night, leading to a 10-5 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. It was the third straight loss to their NL East foes for the Mets, who have now lost five of their last six games.

To be fair, there was plenty of blame to go around. The Mets made costly defensive mistakes with two errors and even more mental mistakes. The bullpen was a sieve, with right-hander Grant Hartwig giving up two runs (one earned) in relief of Lucchesi and right-hander Adrian Houser tagged for three (one earned).

“We’ve got work to do,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “That’s the message to the players.”

Mendoza put the onus on the coaching staff to help the team get past this dismal stretch of play. The manager didn’t make excuses or deflect criticism, only promising that the team would put in the work to play better baseball.

“We’re going through a rough patch right now,” Mendoza said. “We didn’t play a good game today or a clean game. It’s going to happen at times. But understanding that us as a coaching staff, our job is to continue to work with these guys and help them get through it.

“And we will.”

Lucchesi (0-1) was called up from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday to make a start in place of Houser. Forced to empty their bullpen in Tuesday’s loss to the Phillies at Citi Field, Houser warmed up as the last pitcher standing and was unable to make his Wednesday start. Lucchesi was set to start against Triple-A Iowa, instead he found himself driving from Syracuse to Philadelphia with third baseman Mark Vientos on Tuesday night.

It was a tough challenge, but one many other pitchers have managed to overcome. Lucchesi took full responsibility for the damage, which amounted to five earned runs on five hits, four walks and two strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

“No one likes excuses so I’m not going to make any,” Lucchesi said. “I felt really good today, I felt on and pretty sharp, except for that last inning. But yeah, of course it’s hard and tough to get here in one night or whatever. But I’m a warrior. So I felt good, man. I don’t know.”

Lucchesi gave up a home run to Bryce Harper in the first before settling in through the next few innings. But in the fifth, he lost the strike zone completely and walked the first two hitters. No. 9 hitter Johan Rojas dropped a bunt to the left of the mound and instead of making a play at first base, Lucchesi turned and threw to third base where Edmundo Sosa was already safe.

It was reminiscent of a play Lucchesi tried to make last season in Miami. Lucchesi turned to throw to third and collided with Brett Baty in the process. Failing to realize the third baseman was right in front of him, he threw to an empty base.

“The bunt happened and then bases were loaded,” Lucchesi said. “I tried to miss more on the inner third [part of the plate], and then they were just putting good bat-to-ball on it and things kind of just got away from me.”

The rest of his inning went as follows: A bases-loaded walk to Kyle Schwarber, an RBI single to J.T. Realmuto and a two-run double to Harper. The Mets got Realmuto at the plate for the first out, ending Lucchesi’s night.

“I think they made some adjustments because early in the game it felt like they were swinging at balls just outside of the strike zone,” Mendoza said. “In that inning, they came in with a plan and they were just forcing him [to throw the ball] in the zone and he lost it there.”

The Mets (19-23) scored two runs off left-handed starter Ranger Suarez, who went five innings in the win (8-0). Right-hander Spencer Turnbull pitched three innings for Philadelphia (31-13), giving up three in the eighth. J.D. Martinez hit his second homer of the season to lead off and Vientos (2-for-4 with an RBI double) followed with a single up the center.

With two outs, Jeff McNeil hit a deep fly to right-center field and Johan Rojas dove for it, with the ball falling right next to him for an RBI double. Tomas Nido sent him home on a single.

But the offensive output was too little, too late.

“We’re just not clicking right now,” Mendoza said. “The free basis or extra bases, when you’re playing good teams, you know, they’re going to make you pay for them. This is something that we will continue to address and we’ve got to get better.”

More moves will be made soon with right-handed starter Tylor Megill set to return to the rotation Sunday or Monday. Megill is in Philadelphia with the Mets, but has not yet been activated.

“We still have to finalize whether it’s going to be Sunday or Monday,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. “But that will be the plan, Megill will take a turn on the rotation.”

Megill has been out since the first series of the season with a right shoulder strain. He’s made five rehab starts and is ready to be activated from the 15-day injured list, but having just made a start with Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, he wasn’t available to make one Wednesday.

The Mets scratched Houser after he warmed up in the bullpen Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies at home. Sean Reid-Foley was approaching his pitch count in the ninth inning of a loss and the Mets had no other arms available. Houser threw two innings out of the bullpen Wednesday, giving up three runs (one earned).

The Mets started a three-city eight-game road trip Wednesday in Philadelphia. They’ll continue with a three-game series against the Marlins in Miami this weekend before finishing the trip with three against the Cleveland Guardians.

Right-handed reliever Drew Smith suffered a setback Tuesday after playing catch. He was set to return Wednesday but complained of pain in the back of his shoulder shortly before Tuesday’s game. However, the Mets don’t think it will be a serious setback. The shoulder injury that landed him on the IL was in the front of his shoulder, so it may not be related.

Smith will resume playing catch Thursday. No imaging is currently scheduled.

“We don’t anticipate this being a long setback,” Mendoza said. “We’ll see where we are because after he pitched (in a rehab assignment) he said that he was feeling fine, but yesterday after he went out there and played catch, he said something about the back of his shoulder.”

Left-hander Brooks Raley underwent another MRI and got another opinion on his injured elbow Tuesday in Texas. The results showed a UCL strain. However, the imaging showed signs of healing, so he may be able to avoid surgery.

The Mets will continue to treat the injury for two weeks. At that point, Raley will be reassessed again and the doctors will determine whether or not he can begin a throwing program. The lefty previously had a cortisone shot to help with inflammation, but there are no plans for another injection at the moment.

Vientos is riding the waves of the season, good and bad. His hopes were up before it even began, only for the Mets to sign J.D. Martinez, which bumped him to Triple-A Syracuse. When Starling Marte went to the Dominican Republic for a family emergency in April, Vientos was called up and played the hero role with his first walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals.

But when Marte returned, Vientos returned to Syracuse.

He was recalled by the Mets again Wednesday and was in the lineup playing third base against the Philadelphia Phillies. There was no hiding his excitement, but he was much more measured this time than during big league stints in the past.

“The way you view things is big,” Vientos said Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. “For me it’s just another baseball season — another baseball season with its ups and downs. I’m taking it day by day and I’m here now, so I’m happy with that and happy to be with the squad.”

Vientos is expected to platoon with Brett Baty at third base, though manager Carlos Mendoza is hesitant to call it a straight platoon. Baty will become the Mets’ new utility infielder, at least in the interim, and will get more at-bats against right-handed hitters. Vientos will see more at-bats against left-handed hitters.

“We’re facing a lefty today and potentially few more in the next series against the Marlins, so it was a good opportunity for him to get some playing time here,” Mendoza said. “That’s the decision we made yesterday, but Brett will continue to play as well. It’s a combination of matchups and putting guys in a position to have success.”

The Mets hope Vientos can help with an anemic offense. The offense ranks toward the lower third in the league in runs per game (4.20) and OPS (.672). He’s hit .285 with a .876 OPS and six home runs in 31 games with Syracuse.

But getting another bat to work with came at the cost of Joey Wendle. The Mets have gone from two utility infielders to none, designating Zack Scott for assignment last month and Wendle on Wednesday.

Wendle was signed to a Major League contract in December to replace Luis Guillorme, and while he provided solid veteran leadership, the Mets needed him to defend. His -2 OAA wasn’t good enough and he became the victim of a roster crunch.

However, the Mets acknowledged that the sample size was small.

“It was a tough one,” Mendoza said. “Not an easy one because of who he is as a player and as a person, such a professional. Obviously, things didn’t go the way we were expecting or the way he was expecting. He didn’t get many opportunities, but he understood that it’s a business and where we are in trying to change things up here. And we needed a righty bat.”

Wendle hit .222 with a .493 OPS in only 18 games for the Mets (37 plate appearances).

Baty will work with Mike Sarbaugh to take grounders all over the infield over the next week or so, but the Mets only plan to use him to back up Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil in an emergency.

“The angles are different, especially if he’s got to go to second base to turn a double play or something that he’s never done,” Mendoza said. “But this is where we are right now and we want to roll with it.”

That leads one to believe Vientos might not be up in the Major Leagues for very long. While Francisco Lindor would play all 162 games if you let him, injuries and illnesses happen. The slumping McNeil was already benched earlier this week. At some point, the Mets will need another utility infielder.

But this is where the Mets are now and they’ll work with what they have.

“I don’t look into the future,” Vientos said. “I’m just staying with the daily things that I’ve got to do right now. I’m going to go do batting practice and I have a game at 6:40. I’m just worried about things that are about to happen, I don’t look into the future.”

The start — an otherwise off outing that left the Yankee self-critical after allowing four earned runs — gave Stroman 1,131 strikeouts for his career. That’s the most among pitchers who are 5-7 or shorter since 1901, according to Baseball Reference’s Stathead.com.

Stroman surpassed Dolf Luque, a fellow 5-7 right-hander. The Cuban-born, two-time World Series champ totaled 1,130 strikeouts over 20 seasons with the Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Robins and New York Giants between 1914 and 1935.

“Oh? Fire!” an unaware Stroman said when the Daily News informed him. “Sick, man. That’s pretty cool. I like that!”

While the feat may sound like nothing more than a random stat that Stroman didn’t even know about, the 33-year-old quickly found meaning in the achievement before adding two more strikeouts over six scoreless innings against the Twins on Wednesday night.

Stroman, whose HDMH Apparel company stands for “Height Doesn’t Matter Heart,” thought back to the months leading up to his junior year at Duke in 2012. He had been speaking to major league teams, but they didn’t see him as a starter due to his stature.

“’Hey, you’re a one-inning guy. We see you as a high-leverage guy,’” Stroman remembers teams telling him. “’We see you [getting drafted] in rounds five to seven.’”

Stroman heard that he could be a “Tom Gordon-type,” a nod to the 5-9 reliever who won a Rolaids Relief Award and spent two seasons with the Yankees from 2004-2005.

While Gordon enjoyed a successful career as a reliever, Stroman wanted to start.

“Oh yeah,” he said when asked if those assessments pissed him off. “Younger me had a lot of fire. Let’s just say that. I’m way calmer now, but when I was younger, I used to pitch to prove people wrong. Now I don’t have that type of energy. Now I’m more pitching to prove myself right in a sense. But yeah, I hated it.”

Stroman took those evaluations as a challenge while transitioning to Duke’s rotation on a full-time basis as a junior.

“I was like, ‘Okay, that’s cool. I’m going to start this year. Come watch, and we’ll go from there,’” Stroman recalled telling teams. “Then I went out and I struck out the most guys in the country my junior year.”

Indeed, Stroman led all NCAA pitchers with 136 strikeouts that season. He also earned numerous All-America honors and made First Team All-ACC while recording a 2.39 ERA over 14 starts.

Stroman parlayed that performance into a first-round draft selection, going 22^nd overall to the Blue Jays in 2012. The two-time All-Star is now in his 10^th major league season.

He’s been a starter for all of them.

“For me, it was always about proving durability and longevity. So I feel like that’s just a testament to my health,” Stroman said of toppling Luque. “People don’t know how much goes into this, so it’s good to see it pay off, because this is a 24/7, 365 job for me.”

Stroman wanted to thank his personal trainer, Nikki Huffman, for his staying power. She oversaw his ACL rehab, which took place at Duke, in 2015 before becoming the Jays’ head athletic trainer. She then left Toronto to start her own business in 2019 — months after Stroman had been traded to the Mets.

“She’s everything for me,” Stroman said.

Stroman’s ACL rehab is when he began investing heavily in his nutrition, mental health and spirituality. Those deep dives led to him adding some quirky elements to his routine, including breathing exercises, candles, self-help books and grounding.

Plenty of MLB players get by without all that, but the 180-pound Stroman feels those things help him get the most out of his small frame.

“The way he goes about things and prepares and trains and treats his body lends itself to the consistency he’s had in his career,” Aaron Boone said before noting one doesn’t have to be a giant to thrive in the majors. “That’s always been one of the great things about baseball: you can be Aaron Judge’s size or Marcus Stroman or Dustin Pedroia.

“Greatness comes in a lot of shapes, sizes and packages when it comes to baseball.”

Stroman has been an example of that, and he’ll continue to be one as he keeps setting strikeout records for short guys.

While his first 1,131 strikeouts set the standard since 1901, two tiny pitchers were able to accumulate more prior to that.

As far as Baseball Reference is concerned, no short pitcher has more strikeouts than Bobby Matthews. Only 5-5, the righty totaled 1,528 strikeouts over 15 seasons with the Fort Wayne Kekiongas, Baltimore Canaries, New York Mutuals, Cincinnati Reds, Providence Grays, Boston, and Philadelphia Athletics between 1871 and 1887.

The 5-7 Ed Morris is sandwiched between Matthews and Stroman. The southpaw tallied 1,217 strikeouts over seven seasons with the Columbus Buckeyes, Allegheny City and the Pittsburgh Burghers from 1884-1890.

Told that he still trailed two pitchers from baseball’s earliest era, Stroman said that he’d like to outdo Matthews and Morris as well.

So long as his durability holds, he surely will.

“I hope to beat that,” Stroman said. “For the small people.”

Oswaldo Cabrera swiftly tied the contest in the second inning, plating Anthony Rizzo with a sacrifice fly. Anthony Volpe then gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead with an RBI double later in the inning.

The third frame saw Giancarlo Stanton hit a rocket off of Twins starter Chris Paddack. With the bases empty, Stanton crushed a changeup 427 feet at 114 miles per hour.

114 MPH off the bat.

Giancarlo Stanton only hits rockets. pic.twitter.com/7JhR58ZC1z

— MLB (@MLB) May 15, 2024

A modest shot compared to the two bombs he hit at Yankee Stadium last week, Stanton now has nine homers. That’s tied with Juan Soto for the second-highest figure on the Yankees.

Aaron Judge leads the team with 10.

The Yankees scored for a third consecutive inning when Alex Verdugo added a two-run double in the fourth.

The Bombers ultimately recorded 12 hits against Paddack, who allowed five earned runs over five innings. The right-hander also walked two and struck out four.

While Paddack struggled, Rodón dominated after Jeffers’ homer while leaning heavily on his fastball. The lefty logged six innings, permitting just the one run while totaling six hits, zero walks and six strikeouts over 102 pitches.

Rodón, who now has a 3.31 ERA, has not issued a walk in his last three starts.

With a win in the books – Clay Holmes shut the door while maintaining his spotless ERA – the Yankees will turn to Marcus Stroman on Wednesday. The righty, a bit off in his last few starts, will face Minnesota’s Pablo López.

DJ ON THE RIGHT TRACK

DJ LeMahieu is almost ready for game action… again.

The versatile infielder is expected to begin a rehab assignment this Thursday or Friday with Double-A Somerset, according to the New York Post. LeMahieu has been ramping up baseball activities over the last week, including live batting practice sessions at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa on Saturday and Tuesday.

LeMahieu also did some defensive work at Tropicana Field over the weekend with the Yankees in Tampa to play the Rays.

DJ LeMahieu doing some side to side work at second base… while Alex Verdugo plays shortstop. Don't expect to see that double play combo in a game. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/wYMrCerYIN

— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) May 12, 2024

Delayed multiple times, LeMahieu has been slowly working his way back from a nondisplaced fracture in his right foot. He suffered the injury on March 16 when he fouled a ball off of his foot in a spring training game.

LeMahieu was initially supposed to start a rehab assignment on April 19. However, that was pushed back a few days at the recommendation of doctors.

The 35-year-old started that assignment on April 23, only for him to leave the game after just one inning due to swelling in his foot. That led to another shutdown.

The Yankees and LeMahieu are hoping that his latest assignment will be free from setbacks.

Another Cole Bullpen

Gerrit Cole threw a bullpen in Tampa on Tuesday, his fourth since being diagnosed with elbow inflammation in spring training. Cole was expected to hang back in Tampa with the Yankees in Minnesota this week.

Cole threw 36 pitches, but he did not progress to two ups, or simulated innings, per the Post. He’ll have to check that box before facing live hitters.

Rehab Roundup

Elsewhere on the rehab circuit, Jasson Domínguez (UCL surgery) found himself batting second on Tuesday, the start of his rehab assignment with Single-A Tampa.

Jorbit Vivas started a rehab assignment with the Tarpons as well.

Meanwhile, Tommy Kahnle (delayed throwing program) had his rehab assignment transferred to Double-A Somerset.

Adrian Houser was slated to pitch Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, but then the Mets were forced to empty their bullpen in a 4-0 home loss Tuesday afternoon. The right-hander, who has made one appearance out of the bullpen since losing his spot in the rotation earlier this month, had to warm up when Sean Reid-Foley gave up four straight hits to the Phillies in the ninth.

As a result, the Mets have to scratch him from his start Wednesday. The Mets are expected to call up left-hander Joey Lucchesi from Triple-A Syracuse, who is 2-1 with a 2.58 ERA in seven starts this season.

“He got hot,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “That’s where we’re at. We were already pushing Reid-Foley refolding today, and with pretty heavy usage the past few days with him we were trying to stay away. But by then we had used a lot of guys and Houser was the last guy. I wasn’t going to push Reid-Foley more than 35 pitches. The fact that [Houser] got hot means he won’t be able to start.”

The Mets don’t have a starter for Wednesday. They plan to discuss pitching plans when they get to Philadelphia Tuesday night. They tried to stay away from him, but when Reid-Foley’s pitch count neared 20, the Mets felt it best to get Houser ready.

“Today before the game, we knew we were very thin going into it,” Mendoza said. “So we talked to [Houser] and he was available. He was open. He was like, ‘I’ll be ready to go.'”

Mendoza didn’t rule out the possibility of a bullpen game, though that could further tax and already beleaguered ‘pen. After five tough games against the Atlanta Braves and Phillies, the bullpen isn’t in great shape. Reid-Foley and right-hander Jorge Lopez have each pitched back-to-back games. The Mets only use pitchers up to two days in a row, but they may have to break that rule to cover nine innings.

Getting a pitcher from Triple-A Syracuse would require a roster move, which would be fine if the Mets didn’t already have to make one Wednesday to activate Drew Smith from the 15-day injured list. Right-hander Reed Garrett is the only reliever with minor league options and since he’s been one of the best relievers for the Mets this season, it’s unlikely they will demote him. Garrett also hasn’t pitched since Sunday, so he should be able to provide the Mets with some much-needed length.

Right-hander Yohan Ramirez is the likely candidate to get designated for assignment. The Mets already lost him on waivers once this season and were able to reclaim him, but someone has to go with Smith returning and the Mets needing a fresh arm.

But if the Mets decide they need a starter from Syracuse, Reid-Foley might get designated, as the right-hander has pitched on back-to-back days and therefore won’t be available for a few more. Reid-Foley has been excellent for the Mets so far this season. He made 10 appearances before giving up an earned run, finally surrendering two to the Phillies on Tuesday.

The other option would be designating Houser, who is 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA.

Of course, the Mets could always have left-hander Jose Quintana pitch on regular rest. Adding Houser back to the rotation was an attempt to give the starters an extra day before their next outings. Right-hander Tylor Megill just made a rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Syracuse, so he’s unavailable.

The Mets might have to scrap their six-man rotation plan this time through the rotation.

Butto issued five free passes over five innings, with a 41-pitch third inning costing him two runs in the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field. Meanwhile, Phillies ace Aaron Nola pitched a complete game shutout using 109 pitches.

“He had command of his pitches,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Nola. “He was in complete control [using] the two-seam, the cutter, but the pitch that got us today was the knuckle curve. He was using it for strikes, to chase, to get back in counts and to put hitters away.”

The two runs allowed by Butto (1-3) came on only one hit. He walked four hitters, hit one and struck out four over five innings. A single and two walks loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but control eluded Butto as he struggled to get that third out. Butto hit Alec Bohm to bring in a run and walked Brandon Marsh to bring in another.

“I was fighting myself,” Butto said. “I limited the damage and gave them just one hit, but we lost against them.”

Butto then settled down and retired the next seven straight, but at 97 pitches through five innings, he was unable to give the Mets the length the bullpen needed. The Mets were forced to empty their bullpen and even had to burn Wednesday starter Adrian Houser. The right-hander warmed up in the ninth inning when Sean Reid-Foley gave up three hits and the first two earned runs of his season.

“It feels like every outing there’s one inning when he loses it,” Mendoza said. “Then he finds a way. He kept us in the game even without his best stuff and gave us five.”

It didn’t get much easier for any other pitcher from there. Right-hander Yohan Ramirez pitched the fifth and put the first two runners on with singles. A wild pitch advanced them to second and third before he retired the next three in order. Left-hander Jake Diekman came out for the seventh and got the first out, but walked the next two. He picked off Kyle Schwarber at second base but then walked Bryson Stott.

The Mets (19-22) went to Jorge Lopez for the second day in a row and the 21st time this season to get the third out. Lopez’s 21 appearances is tied for the third-most in the league.

Diekman came off the field and angrily tossed his glove at the dugout wall, echoing the frustration of the rest of the team.

The Mets are seemingly at a loss as to why their pitchers are walking so many hitters.

“It’s a good question,” Mendoza said. “I know [pitching coach Jeremy Hefner] is working really hard and a lot of our group is working. It’s just one of those things. Since Day One, we’ve been addressing the pitching — stay on the attack, get strike one get two strikes. We’ve never been able to do that.

“We’ve got to keep working.”

Nola (5-2) took a perfect game into the sixth inning. He needed only three pitches to get out of the seventh inning. Starling Marte singled on the first pitch, Francisco Lindor lined one right to Kody Clemens at second base on the next pitch, and Pete Alonso grounded into a double play on the last one.

Alonso and Lindor crushed those pitches but couldn’t find any holes.

“I got every pitch I wanted today and I was able to get the barrel to it,” Lindor said. “Some of them I squared up and some of them, I just just missed them… That’s what good pitchers do, they throw pitches that look like they’re hittable, and then all of the sudden they move at the end.”

Pitching for the second day in a row, Reid-Foley got the first out before facing the top of the order. He gave up three straight singles and a double before getting the final two outs, giving the Phillies (30-13) a 4-0 lead that Nola effectively protected.

The Mets put runners on the corners in the bottom of the ninth but Lindor popped up Nola’s 109th pitch for the final out. He allowed four hits and struck out eight, issuing not a single walk in his sixth career complete game and fourth career shutout.

The series shifts to Citizens Bank Park for the next two games, with the Mets embarking on an eight-game road trip through Philadelphia, Miami and Cleveland. They’ve lost four of their last five games, all against NL East opponents.

“It’s no fun, for sure,” Lindor said. “But it’s part of the daily grind. You understand that you’re going to have ups and downs and you try to limit the downs. Right now, it seems like we’re in a month where the uphill fight is even harder, but you’ve just got to do it.”

Roughly 10 minutes away, on the International Falls side, lies an acre of property owned by Alex Verdugo’s maternal grandfather, Don Potter. When the Yankees outfielder went to see his grandparents as a kid and young adult, the area served as an outdoorsy escape, with four-wheelers, bird hunting and snowmobiles offering a slower pace than Verdugo’s home in Tucson, Ariz., and some of the bigger cities he’s played in.

“You’re just in nature,” Verdugo told the Daily News before the Yankees ventured to Minnesota for a series with the Twins. “When you’re looking, you don’t see f–king buildings everywhere. You see land. You see water. You see animals. It’s just a very peaceful, scenic-type feeling for me.”

In the winter, the scene turns to tundra and the lake freezes over. That’s when Verdugo, Potter and the rest of their family would go ice fishing.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Verdugo said. “You could do it several ways. You can have an actual fish house that you drive out there and put it down. You can have a little pop-up tent. It’s really however you want to do it.”

Potter prefers to use a fish house, or a portable shelter that’s moved onto the ice via truck. Once in place, holes are drilled in the ice from inside the house before anglers drop their lines into the slushy water.

High-end fish houses can cost tens of thousands of dollars and come with various creature comforts, almost like a luxury RV. However, Potter’s is simple.

An 8 x 12 shack, it features a table, a furnace, and cutouts in the floor that expose the ice. Potter assembled it himself years ago.

“They got some nice ones, but the one we have is one that my grandpa built,” Verdugo said, beaming with pride. “He’s awesome. He’s always been a big handyman and did stuff himself. He built and worked on cars, you name it. He was always really good at working with wood and things like that. So he’s like an old-timer, man.”

Only big enough to fit a few people, Verdugo and the rest of his family would rotate in and out of the shanty during fishing trips for walleye, northern pike, perch and bass. Once satisfied with the haul, Verdugo and co. would take the fish back to Potter’s home, clean them and “do a little fish fry.”

Known for his diamond chains, custom cleats and other flashy accessories, Verdugo knows that he doesn’t look the part of a typical outdoorsman. He said he’s gotten that reaction a lot throughout his professional career, especially when he’s told “country” teammates about his exploits in International Falls.

Some would assume the ice fishing and other activities are out of character. But like a frozen lake, there’s always more beneath the surface of an athlete’s public persona.

“I don’t think that’s fair to say,” said Caleb Ferguson, a teammate of Verdugo’s with the Yankees and Dodgers. “There’s a lot of guys that do a lot of things outside of the baseball field, but because of how they’re molded as a player, people think it’s weird. Everybody just knows one version of that guy, you know?”

Verdugo and Ferguson were minor league roommates when the Dodgers first drafted the duo in 2014. However, Ferguson did not find out about his past and present teammate’s affinity for ice fishing until after the two became Yankees over the offseason.

“I guess that’s bad on my part for not knowing that about him,” Ferguson said, though Verdugo bears some responsibility.

That’s because Verdugo has never taken any of his teammates ice fishing. He also hasn’t gone on an International Falls fishing trip since the Dodgers traded him to the Red Sox in February 2020.

Verdugo is hoping to put an end to both streaks this January, when Rainy Lake will be completely frozen and ready for ice fishing. He’d like a few Yankees join him, though there’s no guarantee the impending free agent will still be employed by the team.

“There is a good chance,” Verdugo said of some Bombers making the trip. “We might do something.”

The cleanup hitter added that he’ll teach his three kids to ice fish as well.

In the meantime, Verdugo is looking forward to the club’s series in Minneapolis. The city is about five hours from International Falls, but Potter and other family members plan on attending the games with Verdugo celebrating his 28^th birthday on Wednesday.

It’s been a difficult time for the maternal side of Verdugo’s family. Potter, afflicted by a condition that Verdugo likened to Parkinson’s, has had trouble talking. Then there’s Verdugo’s mom, Michelle. She is battling breast cancer after losing her mother to the disease last year, though she thankfully has just one or two treatment sessions left.

With some birthday plans in place, the North Star State will give Verdugo and his family a chance to escape once again, just like when he was little.

“We’ll probably do a dinner or something,” Verdugo said. “Nothing crazy. Obviously, we’re still in season and you gotta be prepared for the next game. But we’re gonna enjoy it.”

Diaz came out for the save in the ninth inning on Monday night with the Mets leading the Philadelphia Phillies by two. By the time he exited, the game was tied. The Mets ultimately lost 5-4 in the 10th inning when automatic runner Bryce Harper scored on a sacrifice fly. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley was charged with loss (1-1).

“Today was not a good day for me,” Diaz said. “I let the team down. Reid-Foley got the loss but it’s on me because I gave up a two-run lead. I blew it. I think I just have to keep working and when they give me the ball, I do my job.”

Up 4-2 in the ninth, Diaz gave up a leadoff homer to Bryson Stott. Kody Clemens, the son of former Yankees ace Roger Clemens, pinch-hit a single to center. Diaz then walked Brandon Marsh to put two on with none out. The right-hander got two outs before walking Whit Merrifield to load the bases.

The left fielder checked his swing on strike three, but home plate umpire Gabe Morales awarded Merrifield the base, drawing the ire of manager Carlos Mendoza, who yelled at the officiating crew from the dugout.

“From the dugout, I thought he swung,” Mendoza said. “But at the end of the day, you can’t walk him. He got behind 3-1 and a check swing could go either way.”

Diaz then hit Alec Bohm with a pitch to bring in a run and tie the game at 3-3. The Mets challenged the call but lost. Bryce Harper struck out to end the inning. Orion Kerkering retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

All things considered, Diaz has looked mostly like his old self this season. Still, two blown saves in less than two weeks seems uncharacteristic for one of the game’s best stoppers. Diaz has given up four home runs already this season after allowing only three in all of 2022 (62 innings). Stott connected on a fastball that was about four inches off the plate, which shows issues with command.

While his velocity was in the high 90s Monday, it has dipped a few times this season. However, the problem, according to Mendoza, is pitch sequencing.

“He goes through stretches where you see him get happy with one pitch and then gets away from the other one,” Mendoza said. “The Bohm one, three fastballs and he ended up hitting him. We’ll continue to work with him and get him back to where he needs to be.”

Though he trusts catcher Tomas Nido, he shook him off a few times Monday, something he realized he shouldn’t do.

“I don’t like to shake a lot and I did it today,” Diaz said. “I paid the price for it. I just like to follow them when they call for me to throw because they’ve been there nine innings. I’ve got to follow them.”

Left-hander Sean Manaea turned in a solid performance with six innings of one-run baseball, giving the Mets as good of a chance as any to win.

Manaea pitched six innings, scattering four hits, walking one and striking out six. He went heavy on the sinker and sweeper and threw his changeup to left-handed hitters.

“He got behind at times but he continued to attack hitters and gave us six solid innings,” Mendoza said. “I thought he was good.”

The one run allowed came in the second inning. Stott led off the inning with a single and went to third on Edmundo Sosa’s double. Manaea got two quick outs before Garrett Stubbs legged out a single on a drag bunt. Stott scored to put the Phillies up 1-0.

The Mets came back in the bottom of the inning and scored twice. Manaea didn’t allow another hit. He retired the side in order in the third, allowed a walk and a stolen base by Brandon Marsh in the fourth and then retired the next six straight. He walked off the field punching his glove with satisfaction after throwing his 100th pitch.

Left-hander Christopher Sanchez gave up three runs over 5 2/3 innings for the Phillies. Pete Alonso doubled to lead off the bottom of the second and was sent home by a double from J.D. Martinez. With two outs, Nido sent a single up the middle to score Martinez and give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

Sanchez walked in a run in the third to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

Jose Alvarado earned the save for the Phillies (29-13), who currently sit atop the NL East standings. The loss dropped the Mets (19-21) to fourth place, behind Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington.

“I thought the boys fought really hard,” Manaea said. “A couple of things didn’t didn’t happen, but we’ve just got to get back out there tomorrow.”