NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira and
Curtis Granderson each hit a two-run homer, Phil Hughes became the American League's second 10-game winner and the New York Yankees ended
the New York Mets' eight-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory
Saturday.
The matchup between rising star
pitchers with 9-1 records was won with the long ball. Hughes gave up
two early home runs to Jose Reyes, but Mike Pelfrey yielded homers
after allowing the leadoff batter to reach in the third and fourth
innings of his worst start in six weeks.
When given the lead, Hughes (10-1)
held it — a hallmark of his season. The 23-year-old right-hander has
not allowed an opponent to tie or take the lead once the Yankees went
ahead in 12 of his 13 starts. The only time his teammates failed to
give him the lead was against the Mets and Pelfrey (9-2) on May 22, his
only loss.
The win ended the Yankees' three-game
skid and tied Hughes with another budding star, Tampa Bay's David
Price, who is 10-2, for the AL lead in wins. Hughes allowed five hits
and three walks in seven innings. He struck out four and threw a wild
pitch.
Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless
eighth, rebounding from a poor performance against the Phillies on
Thursday night in which he gave up three runs without getting an out.
Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 17 chances.
The Yankees scored more runs Saturday
than they had in their past three games overall (four) — without the
help of shortstop Derek Jeter, who was a late scratch from the lineup
because of bruised heel. He was hurt running to first Friday night in a
4-0 loss to the Mets.
With Alex Rodriguez serving as the
designated hitter, the left side of the Yankees' infield was manned by
25-year-old rookie Kevin Russo at third base and 24-year-old
second-year backup Ramiro Pena at shortstop.
The Yankees can even the 2010 Subway
Series at 3-all Sunday, when they send CC Sabathia to the mound against
Johan Santana in a pairing of former Cy Young Award winners. The Mets
won two of three at Citi Field in May with Santana beating Sabathia in
that series finale.
Reyes homered on the game's second
pitch, but the Yankees answered in the bottom half. Brett Gardner and
Nick Swisher hit singles to put runners on first and third with none
out before Teixeira grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, allowing Gardner
to score.
Reyes connected in the third after
Hughes walked No. 9 batter Henry Blanco for his sixth multihomer game.
The ball just cleared the right-field wall several yards from where his
first drive went out. Swisher leaped but did not get his glove over the
top of the wall.
Teixeira tied it with a two-run
drive an out after Gardner got his second single to start the bottom of
the inning, and Granderson hit a long homer to right after Pelfrey
walked Posada leading off the fourth for a 5-3 margin.
Pelfrey let the leadoff batter reach
in five of his seven innings. He gave up five runs, the most he's
allowed since giving up six to the Phillies on May 1, which ended the
Mets' other eight-game winning streak this season.
Reyes was retired in his final two
at-bats. In the fifth, he was brought to one knee swinging at a 2-2
curveball for an inning-ending strikeout, and he grounded out to first
in the eighth.
Notes
Mets manager Jerry Manuel
said RHP John Maine (sore shoulder) will need at least one more rehab
start before being activated from the DL. Manuel said Maine will
definitely return to the rotation when he is ready and that LHP
Hisanori Takahashi would remain in a starter role. Knuckleballer R.A.
Dickey or LHP Jonathon Niese are the likely candidates to be sent to
the bullpen. … Yankees RHP A.J. Burnett reported no problems with his
bruised foot after his bullpen session and said he would be able to
make his next scheduled start Monday night in Arizona.