The thing I remember most about that first inter-league game between the Yankees and the Mets in 1997 other than the buzz at Yankee Stadium that was usually reserved for post-season games was how upset Yankees players were afterward about how Mets fans had drowned out Yankees fans.

The Yankees acted like a bunch of sore high school kids, which was kind of refreshing because too often major-league players can seem so blasé about their surroundings. After being shut out by journeyman righthander Dave Mlicki, the Yankees set matters right by winning the next two games and turning the Stadium back over to Yankees fans.

They need to do that again the rest of this weekend. Perhaps because many Yankees fans had left the Stadium in the late innings and their team behind, it sounded as if we were at Citi Field in the ninth inning when closer Francisco Rodriguez finished off the Mets’ 2-1 victory by striking out Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher.

The Yankees have now lost six straight home games for only the second time since 1990. They dropped eight home games in a row May 16-26, 2003. Another game of poor clutch hitting (1-for-10 with runners in scoring position) subdued the Yankees. Mets pitchers retired the last 11 Yankees hitters in succession, seven on strikeouts.

The Yankees caught a few breaks in this game or it might not have been as tight as it was. The second of two doubles by Mets third baseman Justin Turner was a slicing drive down the right field line that Swisher made a long run to get to and then belly flopped for without success.

The ball bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, which was good news for the Yanks. With two out, Carlos Beltran would have scored easily from first base had Turner’s hit remained in play. As it was, Beltran had to stay at third base, and Freddy Garcia worked out of danger by getting Josh Thole on a grounder to first.

The Yankees failed to capitalize on a break the previous inning. Brett Gardner reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Jose Reyes, whose peg to first had pulled Daniel Murphy off the bag. But did it? TV replays indicated that Murphy’s foot was on the base when the ball hit his glove and that he came off after making the catch, but first base umpire Jeff Kellogg did not see it that way.

The day before at Citi Field, the Mets got a big out in the ninth inning on a play at first in which Murphy clearly was off the base, but the umpire didn’t see it and the Washington runner was called out. Mets manager Terry Collins argued briefly with Kellogg but didn’t press it, perhaps out of guilt over Thursday’s call.

Despite three close pickoff attempts by Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, a knuckleball pitcher but with a good move to first, Gardner was able to steal second base. Brett then made a base-running error on Derek Jeter’s single to deep short.

Reyes went deep in the hole for Jeet’s grounder, which kept Gardner close to second. But when Reyes threw to first base in a vain attempt to get Jeter, Gardner should have crossed to third once the shortstop released the ball. His hesitance changed the inning.

Not to fall victim to the fallacy of the pre-determined play, the Yankees had a better chance to score with Gardner on third rather than second, particularly if Curtis Granderson’s had flied out to right the way he did that would have been a sacrifice fly and not just an out.

Dickey stiffed the Yankees by striking out Mark Teixeira looking and retiring Alex Rodriguez on a ground ball behind second base with Reyes making a tracer’s bullet of a throw to first. Jeter’s infield single was the Yankees’ only hit in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Teixeira accounted for the Yankees’ only run off Dickey with his 11th home run with two out in the third. The Mets tied the score off Garcia in the fourth on two-out doubles by Fernando Martinez and Turner and took the lead in the sixth on a solo homer by Murphy.