The seventh inning of Friday night’s Subway Series had fans on the edge of their seats. With two outs and trailing 5-2 against the Yankees, the Mets had the bases loaded. Francisco Lindor was about to face Brent Headrick with a 3-2 count when the game came to an abrupt halt. A fan had invaded the field at Yankee Stadium.
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“Security tackles a fan who ran onto the field at Yankee Stadium at 9:11 p.m. with a Palestinian flag,” Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported on X. “Fans threw beer cans at him once security got him beyond the outfield wall.”
Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Yankees hosted a pregame ceremony to honor the victims of the tragedy. They paid tribute to the NYPD, FDNY, Port Authority Police Department, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and Tuesday’s Promise, as well as select members of the 2001 Yankees team. The former players included Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada.
The ceremonial first pitch of the game was also thrown by Brielle Saracini and her husband, Sean McGuire, who were both just 10 years old when they lost their fathers on 9/11 and later found each other through Camp Better Days.
At 9:11 p.m., at the top of the seventh, a fan stormed onto the field waving a Palestinian flag. Security rushed to detain him and escort him out of the stadium. The man had entered the field from the left side and sprinted toward center field, dodging police officers and stadium security.
The man was finally caught in the outfield grass as police detained him. And as they were dragging him out of the stadium, chants of “USA” from the stands grew louder. After several minutes of delay, the game resumed.
Despite having the bases loaded in the seventh, the Mets could not capitalize on it. Brent Headrick, who was throwing warm-up pitches during the delay, lined out Lindor after battling him for 6 pitches. With Lindor out, the Yankees escaped the jam. The Yankees ultimately won the game 6-4.
Before the series opener, the Mets’ interim manager Andy Green had spoken about the importance of the game.
“It’s gonna be special,” Green said, per the New York Post. “I think obviously it takes us back 25 years and all of the emotions and uncertainty we felt that day. The pain we felt for people who lost loved ones. It’s gonna be incredibly special. Major League Baseball got this one right by putting these two teams against each other on this day.”
The Yankees will play the Mets again on Saturday, and only time will tell if they can sweep the struggling Mets.