German's Return, Urshela's Glove Carry Yankees To Split With Mets
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Domingo Germán pitched six sharp innings in his return from injury, Didi Gregorius and Gio Urshela hit consecutive homers, and the New York Yankees beat the New York Mets 5-1 Wednesday night.
Germán (10-2) allowed a run over six innings, giving up five hits and no walks. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out six and threw 80 pitches in a tidy return from a strained left hip flexor, which had sidelined him since June 8.
The AL East-leading Yankees have won 14 of 16 overall and forced a four-game split in this year's Subway Series. The Mets haven't won the season series since 2013.
Urshela also made three stellar defensive plays at third base, and Gregorius had two hits for his career-best sixth straight multi-hit game. Gleyber Torres added two hits and two RBIs.
Mets starter Jason Vargas (3-4) settled after a rocky first inning, pitching three-run ball into the sixth. The left-hander struck out six and allowed seven hits and two walks.
Jeff McNeil homered in the first inning, but the Mets failed to rally following consecutive comeback victories against the Braves and Yankees. The Mets have lost eight of 10.
DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge hit consecutive doubles leading off the first, and Torres scored Judge with a single for a 2-0 lead.
McNeil countered with his leadoff shot in the bottom of the inning, the All-Star's seventh connection of the season.
Vargas slowed things down with a steady dose of changeups and kept the Yankees in check until Gregorius' solo homer in the sixth. Wilmer Font relieved Vargas and allowed Urshela's shot, which made it 4-1 Yankees.
A night earlier, the Mets ended the Yankees' major league-record homer streak at 31 games.
Chad Green pitched two scoreless innings for New York, striking out four. The right-hander has thrown 11 2/3 shutout innings over his last seven outings.
Mets left-hander Steven Matz made his second career relief appearance and first since being moved to the bullpen until after the All-Star break. He faced one batter, retiring Gregorius leading off the seventh on four pitches.
GLOVE AFFAIR:
Urshela twice backhanded grounders and threw on the run from foul territory to get outs at first base early in the game, then dived into the hole and threw from a seated position to nab McNeil on a hard grounder in the eighth.
Despite losing playing time to the returning Gregorius, the 27-year-old has continued his breakout season whenever manager Aaron Boone has called on him. Urshela is still clubbing an impressive .307 on the year. His sixth inning homer also marked a new career-high (7) and he's on pace to surpass every other stat in his young career.
NOT KIDDING:
The Yankees manager called it "a joke" that Torres has not been added to the AL All-Star team. The 22-year-old — an All-Star last year as a rookie — entered Wednesday batting .295 with 19 home runs and a .907 OPS.
"It doesn't seem right to me that he's not on that team," Boone added.
TRAINER'S ROOM:
Yankees: Boone said RHP Dellin Betances is "90 percent" recovered from the lat strain that has kept him out all season. Betances is still about a week away from resuming throwing. TV play-by-play announcer Michael Kay saw a specialist in Boston on Wednesday and will have surgery to correct an issue with his vocal cord. He expects to miss about a month. Radio announcer John Sterling said Tuesday he will skip New York's four-game series at Tampa Bay this weekend beginning Thursday — his 81st birthday. Sterling has called every Yankees game since 1989.
Mets: INF Jed Lowrie is "not close" to beginning a minor league rehab assignment, manager Mickey Callaway said. Lowrie signed a $20 million, two-year deal in the offseason but hasn't played yet this year. Asked what Lowrie's injury is, Callaway declined to provide specifics, saying only it was a left side issue. Callaway said Lowrie has been participating in baseball activities at the team's facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
UP NEXT:
Yankees: Start a four-game series at Tampa Bay to close out the first half. LHP J.A. Happ (7-4, 5.23) pitched five innings of two-run ball against the Rays on June 18. Tampa Bay will start RHP Yonny Chirinos (7-4, 3.10).
Mets: Open a three-game home series against Philadelphia on Friday. Mets All-Star RHP Jacob deGrom (4-7, 3.32) faces RHP Vince Velasquez (2-5, 4.73).
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
