Three batters into the game, with each of his last two pitches having left the park, Taijuan Walker’s night had a chance to go off the rails.

Instead, he did what his counterpart could not, limiting the damage to pitch the Mets to a 6-3 win over the Yankees on Tuesday night at Citi Field.

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We've seen plenty of weird fan-created sports jerseys. This one, however, is particularly bizarre.

One fan was spotted at Citi Field on Tuesday wearing a white pinstripe jersey with "LeBron" and the number 26 on the back (h/t Talkin' Yanks).

Perhaps a Knicks fan still dreaming of LeBron James coming to the Garden.

Something happened on the way to 2022. The Mets did whatever they could to make sure they were no longer the little team from Queens.

The goal was perfect, the execution exemplary.

Using Steve Cohen’s capital, the due diligence of a revamped front office and the tone set by a new manager we’ve known forever — the two baseball people both former Yankees — they emerged from the shadow of the perennially winning juggernaut from The Bronx to become a force in Flushing.

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The Yankees are in a wobbling state these days, with their starting pitching looking like they left their best in May and June and injuries softening their depth and the big hits not coming the way they did earlier in the season. The Mets had the lead and enough runs to beat them six batters into the bottom of the first in what would be a 6-3 triumph.

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With the Yankees down by two in the seventh with one out and Aaron Judge on second with Anthony Rizzo on first, the two runners tried a double steal, and Rizzo was thrown out at second. It changed the inning as Gleyber Torres popped out to end the inning.

Rizzo discussed what happened on that play:

Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two more hits Tuesday night against the Mets while extending his hitting streak to 13 games. But in the eighth inning with two outs, a runner on first and trailing by two runs, Aaron Boone opted to use Joey Gallo as a pinch-hitter for Kiner-Falefa.

Gallo coming in prompted the Mets to replace Adam Ottavino with Edwin Diaz, who struck Gallo out to end the eighth.

Boone explained why he made that move, while also explaining what he saw from Jordan Montgomery:

It was a rough night at the office for Jordan Montgomery, who took the loss as the Yankees fell to the Mets in Game 1 of the 2022 Subway Series.

Montgomery allowed five runs (four earned) in 2 1/3 innings on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. You can read more about Montgomery's night and the Yankees' rotation here from Post Yankees beat writer Dan Martin.

Here's what Montgomery had to say about his outing:

Eduardo Escobar sent Citi Field into a frenzy when his two-run home run gave the Mets a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Here is what Escobar had to say about the atmosphere after his home run and throughout the game against the Yankees:

The Mets did not get rattled by the Yankees jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first off back-to-back home runs from Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo.

Instead, they offered a quick response by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first, sending a message to the Yankees that they were more than game against the best team in baseball.

Here's what Buck Showalter thought of the atmosphere for the first game of the 2022 Subway Series:

The first Subway Series game of 2022 was the Mets' third sellout of the season after Opening Day and Keith Hernandez Day, and the Flushing faithful went home happy.

Read how it all went down from The Post's Mets beat writer Mike Puma, who chronicled the night at Citi Field.

Edwin Diaz continues to get huge outs for the Mets.

His four-out save against the Yankees Tuesday night gives Diaz 14 consecutive appearances without allowing a run. During that span, Diaz has struck out 28 batters while allowing six hits and one walk in 13 1/3 innings.

All four of Diaz's outs against the Yankees were strikeouts.

Edwin Diaz was able to work through his error to get the final two outs and give the Mets the win in the first game of the 2022 Subway Series.

Diaz struck Gleyber Torres out swinging for the four out save. It's Diaz's second save of more than three outs this season; he had a five-out save against the Angels on June 12. Diaz now has 22 saves this season.

The Mets are now 51-5 when scoring four or more runs.

Taijuan Walker earned his eighth win of the season. Starling Marte, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso combined to go 7-for-11 with two RBIs and five runs scored.