Carlos Mendoza liked what he saw from his closer Edwin Diaz in the ninth, especially his strikeout of Aaron Judge to end the game.

“That’s what you call a big-league game,” the manager said. “Big-league matchups. Every pitch was intense. Then the matchup of Diaz and Judge, that’s what you pay for.”

Diaz said he tried to get Judge to chase, which Judge did on the final pitch of the game, a 3-2, 98-MPH four-seamer at the top of the zone.

The Mets took the second game of the Subway Series, 3-2, as Edwin Diaz closed out the bottom of the ninth Saturday by striking out pinch-hitter Austin Wells, getting Ben Rice on a soft liner to third and Aaron Judge to strike out.

Judge went 0-for-5 for the first time this season.

The two teams meet again in the rubber game of the Subway Series on Sunday night in The Bronx, with Max Fried looking to build on his tremendous start to his Yankee career against another lefty, David Peterson. 

The Mets took control of Saturday’s game in the top of the ninth, thanks in large part to the bottom of the lineup.

After Jeff McNeil’s fly to center to open the inning against Fernando Cruz, Luis Torrens walked, Brett Baty singled to second on a grounder DJ LeMahieu couldn’t handle and Tyrone Taylor was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Cruz then fell behind Francisco Lindor 3-0 before he threw a strike.

Lindor followed with a sacrifice fly to center to drive in pinch-runner Luisangel Acuna to put the Mets ahead again, 3-2.

It was nearly a throwback to 2019 or 2020, as DJ LeMahieu made a bid to come up with another big hit for the Yankees, but he ran into some bad luck.

The Yankees loaded the bases with two outs against Mets right-hander Reed Garrett with a walk by Jasson Dominguez, a double by Anthony Volpe that sent Dominguez to third and a four-pitch walk by J.C. Escarra.

LeMahieu, who’d homered and singled earlier in the game, laced a first-pitch line drive to right.

But instead of perhaps a two-or-three-run hit to give the Yankees the lead, the 106 MPH shot went straight to Juan Soto for the third out and the game went to the ninth tied, 2-2.

The Yankees brought on lefty Tim Hill to start the eighth, and he got Juan Soto to fly to left, but  Pete Alonso followed by splitting the gap in left-center for a double.

A grounder to first by Brandon Nimmo sent Alonso to third with two outs and the Yankees summoned Fernando Cruz to face Mark Vientos.

The right-hander got the job done again, striking out Vientos to strand Alonso at third.

The Subway Series still registers with fans, as Yankee Stadium was sold out again for Saturday’s matinee.

It was the second straight sellout in The Bronx and fifth of the year.

Two of those sellouts came in the first two home games of the season.

Certainly, the fact both teams are in first place in their respective divisions helps- as does the presence of Juan Soto.

And there are clearly more Mets fans in attendance Saturday than they were on Friday.

The Yankees kept Saturday’s game against the Mets tied in dramatic fashion in the top of the seventh.

With Brett Baty at first and one out, Tyrone Taylor hit a rocket to the gap in left-center. It bounced off the wall and over Jasson Dominguez’s glove, but Cody Bellinger raced over from center and played it perfectly, fired to Anthony Volpe, who threw home to J.C. Escarra in time to get a sliding Baty.

The play was reviewed and the call was confirmed. 

Francisco Lindor followed with a grounder towards the middle, where DJ LeMahieu made a sliding stop and then a good throw to Paul Goldschmidt at first to end the inning.

Clarke Schmidt allowed just three hits in his six-plus innings against the Mets on Saturday.

It was the third time in his last four starts he’s limited the opposing lineup to three hits or fewer. 

But Schmidt also struggled with his command, as he walked a season-high five batters before getting knocked out by Luis Torrens’ single to lead off the top of the seventh.

Schmidt was replaced by Mark Leiter Jr. 

The Yankees knocked Griffin Canning out of the game with one out in the sixth, as Jasson Dominguez singled up the middle and Anthony Volpe followed with a base hit past first that sent Dominguez to third.

Huascar Brazoban came in to face J.C. Escarra, who bounced to first and Pete Alonso fired home to Luis Torrens for the second out.

Volpe and Escarra then executed a double steal that was negated by umpire’s interference, as Torrens hand hit the mask of home plate umpire James Jean.

Looking for his third hit of the game, DJ LeMahieu instead grounded into a forceout to keep the game tied. 

It’s a tie game again in The Bronx, as Cody Bellinger led off the bottom of the sixth with a homer to right-center off Griffin Canning to make it 2-2. 

The 432-foot shot was Bellinger’s sixth homer of the year and is part of his uptick at the plate over the past few weeks.

He had three hits in Friday’s win over the Mets and now has a 12-game hitting streak as he puts his slow start to the season behind him. 

It’s not often Aaron Judge is overshadowed, especially at Yankee Stadium, but he’s mostly been a footnote so far in this Subway Series, with so much attention on Juan Soto.

Judge, though, reached base three times and scored twice in Friday’s win.

On Saturday, with the Yankees trailing by a run in the bottom of the fifth, Judge came up with runners on first and second and two out.

He bounced out to third to end the threat.

After DJ LeMahieu picked up his first homer since last July on Saturday, he had his first multi-hit game since Aug. 25, as the second baseman singled to center off Griffin Canning in the bottom of the fifth.

He was stranded at first, as the Yankees left two runners on in the inning to keep it a 2-1 lead for the Mets.