Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso combine for three homers and nine RBI as Mets beat Yankees

Yahoo

13 hours ago

The Mets put on a power show at Citi Field on Saturday, hitting three home runs, two by Pete Alonso and a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo to rout the Yankees 12-6 and win a second straight Subway Series game.
As a result, the Mets assured themselves of winning this three-game series and have now won three of the five Subway Series games this season.
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It was also their fourth straight win overall and the Yankees' sixth straight loss.
Here are the takeaways...
- For the second time in this four-game winning streak, Nimmo ignited the Mets' offense with a grand slam, as he took Carlos Rodon deep in the first inning for an early 4-0 lead.
- The Mets tacked on runs from there, thanks mostly to Alonso's two home runs. He hit a two-run opposite-field shot in the fifth inning, giving the Yankees a 7-2 lead, and then essentially put the game on ice with a three-run shot to left off reliever Jayvien Sandridge.
The two home runs give Alonso 20 for the season and 246 for his career, eight behind Darryl Strawberry's club record 252.
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- Frankie Montas gave the Mets a solid start and actually pitched better than his final line showed, thanks mostly to a couple of soft-contact hits in the sixth inning that cost him two runs. HE wound up going 5.2 innings, giving up four runs on five hits, no walks, and two strikeouts. Montas gave up solo home runs to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells.
The right-hander was leading 7-2 after five innings before giving up two in the sixth, thanks in part to a bloop single by Trent Grisham and a well-placed fly-ball double to left-center by Cody Bellinger.
All in all, it was a much better start than last time out in Pittsburgh where he gave up five first-inning runs. In the days afterward Montas said he believed he was ambushed early that day because he was tipping pitches. His performance on Saturday made the case that he may have been right.
- With the Mets' bullpen thinned out by injury and illness, they got four outs from Richard Lovelady and Chris Devenski, which got them to the eighth inning and Ryne Stanek.
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Devenski got a very important out in the seventh inning. With two runners on, two outs, the Mets leading 7-5, and Aaron Judge on deck, Devenski fooled Trent Grisham with a change-up and got a weak comebacker to escape the inning.
Stanek was shaky but got through the eighth, allowing one run, and even with a six-run lead Carlos Mendoza brought in Edwin Diaz to close it out.
- On the Yankees' side, it was a very disappointing start for Rodon. He came in with a 2.95 ERA, having a strong first half, but fell behind early on Saturday thanks to a first-inning grand slam by Nimmo and wound up giving up seven runs in five innings, including another home run to Alonso and a ton of hard-hit balls.
As a result, Rodon's ERA jumped to 3.30. With Saturday's news that Clarke Schmidt will likely need Tommy John surgery, Rodon looms as crucial to the Yankees hopes in the second half.
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- The Yankees hit three solo home runs, by Chisholm, Wells, and Volpe.
Game MVP: Pete Alonso
Nimmo's grand slam set the tone but with the Yankees chipping away at the early lead, Alonso's home runs proved decisive, accounting for five runs.
With five RBI, Alonso has 73 for the season, tied for third in the majors, pending other action on Saturday.
Highlights
What's next
The crosstown rivals will play their Subway Series finale on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m. on SNY.
The Mets have yet to announce their starter, while ace Max Fried (10-2, 2.13) is slated to take the mound for the Yanks.