The one-time future of the Mets is trying to ruin the present of the Yankees. 

Through nine innings Friday, Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, both former top Mets prospects, matched the offensive production of the current Yankees. In the 10th inning, the rest of the Guardians picked up the slack in Cleveland’s 4-2, Game 2 victory in The Bronx, which knotted the ALDS at a game apiece. 

The Yankees jumped to a two-run lead in the first inning before the young players Cleveland received in the January 2021 trade for Francisco Lindor went to work. 

In the fourth inning, Cleveland mounted a two-out threat when Josh Naylor hit an infield single and Owen Miller walked. Gimenez, who batted .333 with runners in scoring position this season, stuck out his bat and redirected a Nestor Cortes slider into right field to provide Cleveland its first run. It was Gimenez’s first career postseason RBI. 

An inning later, Rosario, who had launched 11 home runs this season, drilled his first career postseason homer, a 416-foot shot to center that tied the score at 2-2. 

“Cortes was pitching very well, and I was able to adjust to him, and that’s why I hit a homer,” Rosario, the former No. 1 prospect in baseball, said in Spanish after going 2-for-5. 

In trading Lindor, the Guardians showed an unwillingness to attempt to lock up a player whom the Mets then extended for $341 million. The 28-year-old shortstop excelled this year as the Mets racked up 101 wins during the regular season before they were knocked out in the wild-card round by the Padres. 

The Mets likely are not regretting the deal, but neither are the Guardians. The lone player involved in the swap to make the 2022 All-Star team was Gimenez, the 24-year-old second baseman who posted a .837 OPS this season and has formed a nifty double-play combination with Rosario. 

“They lock up our middle infield, that’s always huge,” said the Guardians’ Myles Straw, who has watched the defensive excellence from center field. “You got to have a good middle infield to play [this far] in this game. 

“They’ve done a tremendous job this year, and they’re a big part of why we’re where we are today.” 

In reaching base a combined four out of 10 times and knocking in the only two runs the Guardians scored before extra innings, they were a big part of sending the series to Cleveland tied.