NEW YORK — Six road games without a spark. One night at Citi Field changed that.
The Yankees beat the Mets 5-2 on Friday in the Subway Series opener at Citi Field. Cam Schlittler was untouchable. Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm drove in runs. The Yankees won for only the second time in seven games.
Schlittler takes command from the first pitch
Schlittler came into the game in his first Subway Series start. He left having given the Mets almost nothing to work with.
He allowed two hits and one run across 6 2/3 innings. Nine strikeouts. Two walks. A season-high 106 pitches, 71 for strikes. His fastball sat 96-99 mph and he generated 19 swings and misses.
The Mets had one hit through the first six innings. Brett Baty singled with two outs in the second. That was it until Soto homered in the seventh. Schlittler’s ERA stayed at 1.35, best among AL qualified starters. He is now 6-1.
It was a dominant Yankees performance in the most watched game of the Subway Series weekend. Schlittler was asked how he handled the spotlight of his debut.
“You are going to be a little extra locked in for situations like this, so those don’t faze me and I know that doesn’t faze the guys around here,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to be part of.”
Schlittler took two batted balls off his body and kept pitching both times. He reflected on his performance afterward.
“I don’t think I had my A-plus stuff,” Schlittler said. “But I was able to get in the zone and kind of dominate from there. I think I did a really good job of just mixing pitches and then the guys behind me making some good plays.”
Chisholm, Bellinger and Rice break it open in the third
Clay Holmes struggled with his command from the start. His sinker would not stay down. The Yankees made him pay for it in the third inning.
Ben Rice singled to right. Aaron Judge followed with another single. Holmes got ahead of Cody Bellinger 1-2 and threw a curveball below the strike zone. Bellinger went down and got it, hooking it down the right field line for a two-run double. Yankees up 2-0.
Jazz Chisholm followed. He had entered the game hitting just .203. Holmes left a sinker middle-middle on a 1-0 count. Chisholm lined it down the right field line for an RBI double. Yankees 3-0.
Chisholm finished the game 3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Rice had three hits and scored twice. Bellinger’s two-strike curveball read was one of the best at-bats of the night.
Spencer Jones adds an RBI single in the fifth
The Yankees were not done in the fifth inning. Holmes had been replaced by Austin Warren. Chisholm walked. After a fielder’s choice moved him to second, Spencer Jones drove him in with a single to make it 4-0.
Jones finished with one RBI single. He is making a strong impression in his first extended Yankees stretch.
Soto hits career homer No. 250 but Yankees hold firm
Soto fell behind 0-2 and drove a 97.5-mph Schlittler fastball to left-center for career homer No. 250. Yankees lead cut to 4-1. Schlittler walked Baty two outs later and was removed.
Fernando Cruz came in with runners at second and third and retired AJ Ewing on a fly ball to right. Cruz worked a perfect eighth. David Bednar allowed one run in the ninth on a Baty single.
Rice finishes it with his 14th home run
Ben Rice put the game out of reach in the ninth inning. He led off against Craig Kimbrel and drove the ball out for his 14th home run of the season. Yankees 5-1 at that point.
Rice finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The home run moved him within two of Aaron Judge for the Yankees team lead. He has been one of the most consistent presences in the Yankees lineup all season, and Friday was another example of why the Yankees trust him in the middle of their order.
Holmes hit by line drive, exits with fractured fibula
Jones’ 111-mph line drive struck Holmes just above the right foot in the fourth inning. Holmes finished the inning but was removed in the fifth. X-rays confirmed a fractured right fibula. Holmes will miss an extended stretch. He gave up four earned runs on seven hits across 4 1/3 innings. His ERA rose from 1.86 to 2.39.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza addressed the loss of his starter after the game.
“Every team is going to deal with adversity,” Mendoza said. “We have got to keep going.”
Soto also reflected on watching Holmes get hurt.
“It’s really sad what happened to him,” Soto said. “It’s part of the game. We’re going to support him. We’re going to be right there for him in any kind of way that he needs us, but it just sucks.”
The Yankees improved to 28-17 with the win, their first of the Subway Series. They trail the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays by 1.5 games. The Subway Series continues Saturday night at Citi Field with first pitch at 7:10 p.m.
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