NEW YORK -- Pete Alonso huffed and puffed and nearly tripped rounding third base as Aaron Judge corralled the ball on the right-center-field warning track and hurled it back toward the infield. While being waved home from first, Alonso stopped, turned and almost retreated to the safety of the hot corner, thinking his momentum had slowed enough that he’d be an easy out for a relay throw to the dish.

Except that relay never came.

Jeff McNeil, who was trying to stretch a double into a triple, picked up on Alonso’s hesitation and hustled back toward the empty bag. Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres, eyeing the developing play, made his own sprint toward the bag with the ball in his glove. McNeil and Torres both made headfirst dives. But McNeil got there first.

Alonso trotted home with the game-tying run in the sixth inning, to the elation of the Mets’ portion of the sold-out crowd of 49,217 fans in attendance on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium -- the ballpark’s new high mark of the season, topping Monday’s Subway Series opener.

“I mean, we just play baseball; you’ve got to figure it out,” Alonso said of the unconventional sequence. “Thankfully Jeff was able to get back to second in time, and I was able to score eventually. I didn’t hit the bag that well rounding third ... but it worked out for the best.”

It was the kind of energizing moment that easily could have propelled the Mets to victory, ensuring a split of the Bronx edition of the “Battle of the Boroughs.” Instead, the lasting memory of Alonso in a second consecutive 4-2 loss came an inning later.

As Yankees pinch-hitter Jose Trevino’s pop fly carried well into right field, the Mets first baseman backtracked into the grass, with McNeil and outfielder Starling Marte closing in to provide support. What initially looked likely to drop in foul territory turned around on Alonso and went back into the field of play. He spun and stretched out his glove, but the ball bypassed it and dropped inches fair, putting runners at the corners with only one out.

“I did the best I could to try and get there,” Alonso said, “but it’s a tough, long run, and I just couldn’t make the play.”

The Yankees’ next batter, Andrew Benintendi, tormented the Mets once more in this two-game affair, driving home the game-winning run on a ground ball to left field. Judge, who had smacked a solo home run off starter Taijuan Walker in the fourth, promptly singled in an insurance run.

The Mets didn’t go quietly into the night, however, launching a comeback attempt in the ninth against Yankees reliever Clarke Schmidt, who had been looking to claim a 10-out save. With the Mets down to their final out, pinch-hitter Tyler Naquin drew a seven-pitch walk, and after he advanced to second on defensive indifference, Brandon Nimmo hit an infield single and Marte worked another walk to load the bases.

That ended Schmidt’s night and set the stage for Francisco Lindor. But the Yankees countered by bringing in left-hander Wandy Peralta, who got Lindor to fly out to center. With that, the Mets were denied a chance to win the Subway Series in back-to-back campaigns for the first time in franchise history; instead, at 2-2, it was their fourth season split in the past five years.

“We scored four runs in two games, so you’ve got to tip your hat to their pitching,” said manager Buck Showalter. “That’s probably the story of tonight and last night. But I loved the way our guys battled. We just couldn’t catch a break … I know they’re frustrated by it.

“Proud of the way they competed, and we’ll go home and try to get things going again.”

With Tuesday’s result, the Mets went 4-6 on a 10-game road trip to Atlanta, Philadelphia and the Bronx. Still, they capped a stretch of 27 games in 26 days with an 18-9 record, dating back to their first series after that initial Subway Series tilt in Queens.

Though the Mets were swept this week at Yankee Stadium, they’re already looking forward to a potential rematch between New York’s pair of first-place clubs, especially if Tuesday turns out to be their final meeting of the year only as far as the regular season is concerned.

“It was almost as good as ours. Our Citi Field crowd was special, too,” Showalter said. “It’s great for the fans, and it’s a good experience for our players. We hope that we do the things it takes to get a chance to hopefully come back to this place sometime if we’re both there.”