Mets club four homers to rally past Yankees
NEW YORK — Chris Young hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning, Jenrry Mejia provided a jolt after his reluctant move to the bullpen and the previously punchless New York Mets went deep four times to rally past the Yankees 9-7 Monday night in the Subway Series opener.
ADVERTISING
Curtis Granderson connected in his return to Yankee Stadium, and the Mets also got long balls from Eric Young Jr. and Travis d’Arnaud while overcoming a pair of three-run deficits.
Lumbering first baseman Lucas Duda turned in two spectacular defensive plays, starting a game-ending double play with runners at the corners by making a diving stop of Brian McCann’s sharp grounder.
Taking full advantage of the hitter-friendly confines across town, rather than the vast dimensions back home at Citi Field, the Mets hit four home runs in a game for the first time since May 3, 2013, in Atlanta, according to STATS. They began the day ranked 29th in the majors with 22 home runs.
The Mets also hit four doubles in their latest win over the Yankees. The Mets went 4-0 against them last year.
Brett Gardner hit an early grand slam off ex-Yankee Bartolo Colon, and Derek Jeter had three hits for the first time since September 30, 2012, in Toronto. Carlos Beltran left in the seventh with a hyperextended elbow.
Bumped to the bullpen before the game, Mejia (4-0) entered in the seventh for his first big league relief appearance since September 2012. He struck out Alfonso Soriano on three pitches and worked a scoreless eighth.
Mejia sure seemed to relish the role — even though he made it clear he wanted to stay in the rotation because he was concerned about injuring his surgically repaired arm again. The right-hander excitedly pumped his fist after a double play and then backed his way off the mound following a called third strike that ended the eighth.
Kyle Farnsworth pitched a shaky ninth for his third save — aided by Mark Teixeira’s sore legs.
Teixeira laced a pinch-hit single to right that went to the wall and sent Jeter to third base. A gimpy Teixeira had to stop at first, though, and was pulled for a pinch-runner. That kept the double play in order and Duda turned a rare 3-5-3 gem with third baseman David Wright, who was shifted near shortstop against McCann.
Pinch-hitter Eric Campbell, enjoying his third day in the majors, got the Mets started in the eighth by hustling for a double after his sharp grounder caromed off third baseman Yangervis Solarte and into left field.
Duda blooped a single to center off Matt Thornton (0-1), and Campbell barely beat Jacoby Ellsbury’s accurate throw with a nifty slide at the plate. Chris Young greeted Preston Claiborne with a two-run shot to left, giving the Mets a 9-7 lead.
The Yankees snapped a 4-all tie with three runs in the sixth off Colon, who gave up 11 hits for the second time this season. Solarte hit a go-ahead single on a 3-0 pitch and Kelly Johnson followed with an RBI triple. Brian Roberts trotted home from third when d’Arnaud’s throw sailed high into center field for an error as Gardner stole second.
Young Jr. trimmed it to 7-6 with a two-run homer off reliever Alfredo Aceves in the seventh.
Trailing 4-1, the Mets responded with d’Arnaud’s opposite-field solo shot in the fifth. Wright singled in the sixth and Granderson sent a 3-0 pitch from Hiroki Kuroda over the short porch in right to tie it.
Granderson signed a $60 million, four-year contract with the Mets in December after spending the previous four seasons with the Yankees. He caused a bit of a stir in the offseason by saying, “A lot of the people I’ve met in New York have always said that true New Yorkers are Mets fans.”
In the first inning, Granderson turned to fans in right field and waved. The crowd of 46,517, chanting back and forth as usual, included Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra — who received a warm hand on his 89th birthday — and a large section of Mets fans in left field wearing orange shirts that read “Bronx Invasion.”
TIGERS 4
ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE — Rick Porcello won his fifth straight start, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in a duel between AL division leaders that included a bench-clearing fray.
After Ian Kinsler’s two-run homer in the eighth made it 4-1, Orioles starter Bud Norris hit Torii Hunter in the ribcage with a pitch.
Hunter yelled at Norris, and as he made his way toward first base, the Tigers outfielder moved slightly in the direction of the mound. That caused both dugouts to empty, and relievers from both bullpens charged toward the infield.
Order was quickly restored before anyone blatantly shoved each other, and no punches were thrown.
Norris (2-3) was ultimately ejected by home plate umpire James Hoye. As the right-hander made his way toward the Baltimore dugout, he shouted once more at Hunter, who yelled back.
Porcello (6-1) allowed one run and five hits in six innings, walking none and striking out two in matching the longest winning streak of his career. The right-hander improved to 3-5 lifetime against Baltimore, 1-3 at Camden Yards.
Joe Nathan worked a perfect the ninth for his eighth save.
Steve Clevenger had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in Baltimore’s lone run. Clevenger has taken over the starting role at catcher while Matt Wieters (right elbow strain) is on the 15-day disabled list.
Nick Markakis went 0 for 4, ending his 18-game hitting streak. Markakis flied out to center in the seventh with a runner on third and two outs with the Orioles down by a run.
Baltimore went up 1-0 in the second inning when J.J. Hardy hit a two-out single and scored on a double by Clevenger.
RANGERS 4
ASTROS 0
HOUSTON — Colby Lewis threw 5 2-3 shutout innings, and Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor each homered to lead the Texas Rangers to a 4-0 win over the Houston Astros.
Lewis (3-2) struck out a season-high eight and allowed seven hits to improve to 4-0 in his career at Minute Maid Park. The right-hander bounced back from a poor outing against Colorado on Wednesday where he allowed seven runs in less than four innings.
Beltre had two hits, including a two-run home run to left in the third. Odor had two hits, including a run-scoring single in the fourth and his first career home run in the sixth — a solo shot into the upper deck in right field — to make it 4-0. Prince Fielder also had two hits.
Brad Peacock (0-4) struck out a career-high 11 but allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings. Peacock’s previous career-high for strikeouts was 10 at Minnesota on Aug. 4, 2013.
Jose Altuve had three hits, and Matt Dominguez and George Springer each had two hits for the Astros, who left 12 runners on base in losing for the eighth time in the last 10 games.
Lewis exited after singles by Dominguez and Springer, combined with a Mitch Moreland error, put runners on second and third with two outs in the sixth, but Nick Martinez induced a Chris Carter groundout to end the threat.
BLUE JAYS 7
ANGELS 3
TORONTO — Mark Buehrle wasn’t at his best, but he was exactly what the Blue Jays needed to snap a three-game losing streak.
Buehrle became the first seven-game winner in the majors, Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie homered and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 to avoid a four-game sweep.
Buehrle (7-1) allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings. He walked a season-high five and struck out two.
“Buehrle is on some kind of roll and he was the perfect guy tonight,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We’ve been struggling.”
Buehrle came in with an AL-leading 1.91 ERA, but saw that rise to 2.04, the same as Detroit’s Max Scherzer.
“It didn’t feel like it was an easy game,” Buehrle said. “Obviously, the five walks shows that.”
Bautista hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Lawrie, who returned to the lineup after missing six games with a sore right hamstring, added a two-run shot in the sixth as the Blue Jays avoided what would have been their first four-game sweep to the Angels.
Lawrie said he enjoys playing behind the quick-working Buehrle, calling the left-hander’s pace “unprecedented.”
“Mark is amazing at what he does,” Lawrie said. “You know he’s going to go out there and compete for us ever single night, he’s going to give us a chance to win.”
Both of Toronto’s homers came off Angels starter C.J. Wilson, who allowed five runs and six hits in six innings. Wilson (4-3), winless in back-to-back starts for the first time this season, walked three and struck out eight, including four straight during one stretch.
“Two changeups, one to Bautista and one to Lawrie, really cost him,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “In between, he settled down and pitched well.”
The Blue Jays jumped on Wilson in the first, scoring three runs before the left-hander could record his first out. Steve Tolleson singled on a ball that Wilson couldn’t handle, Melky Cabrera walked and Bautista hit a second-deck drive to left, his team-leading 10th.
Mike Trout cut it to 3-2 with a two-out, two-run double in the third. Twenty of Trout’s 40 hits this season have been for extra-bases.
