New York Yankees 4 — New York Mets 3
Two big home runs turned the entire game around in tonight’s 4-3 win over the New York Mets.
Ivan Nova’s 5.2 innings was not too bad but some errors put extra pressure on him. An error in the 4th inning by Alex Rodriguez put a runner on base that eventually scored one of his two earned runs. He allowed 3 runs including a home run by rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis and a run-scoring single by the opposing pitcher, Chris Young. The bullpen put in solid work behind Nova and a notable relief appearance from Boone Logan as he struck out the 2 batters he faced. David Robertson had a Houdini-like inning with the lead at just 1 when he walked 2 but struck out 3 to preserve the lead. Rafael Soriano kept the Mets from scoring in the 9th to get his 14th save of the season.
The Yankees offense had a very hard time with Mets starting pitcher Chris Young who kept the Yankees off the scoreboard for 6 innings. However, the 7th inning would haunt Young. After a walk and a double, many thought that Chris Young’s night would be over with the left-handed batter, Raul Ibanez, coming up and left-handed specialist Tim Byrdak warming up but Young was left in. The first pitch that Ibanez saw was driven on a line drive into the right field corner for a game-tying three-run home run to end Young’s night. After Jon Rauch got one out, he faced the pinch-hitter Eric Chavez. The veteran third baseman would end up hitting his first career pinch-hit home run to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. The Yankees showed again that they live or die by the home run as all of their runs were scored from home runs for the second time in this series.
Win – Clay Rapada (2-0)
Loss – Jon Rauch (3-7)
Save – Rafael Soriano (14)
Notable
Yankees
*Eric Chavez – 1 for 1, R, Solo Home Run (5) in the 7th, RBI (10)
*Raul Ibanez – 1 for 4, R, 3-Run Home Run (11) in the 7th, 3 RBI (35)
Mets
*Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1 for 5, R, Solo Home Run (7) in the 3rd, RBI (25)
*Daniel Murphy – 1 for 4, R, BB, 2B
Current Yankees Record: 42-28
Ryan Nakada
