 has been a disappointment since the Yankees acquired him from Oakland last July 31, going 11-14 in 30 starts. He left with a 4-1 lead but David Robertson gave up Amed Rosario's RBI single, then allowed another run in when he made an errant pickoff throw to first.Gray has a 7.62 ERA in nine home starts this year and a 3.62 ERA in 10 road appearances. He allowed three runs - two earned - three hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. Pitching for the first time in a week, Chapman issued a leadoff walk, allowed an infield hit, then forced in a run by walking pitch-hitter Ty Kelly and Jose Reyes on eight straight pitches. He hit Brandon Nimmo with a 2-0 pitch, and was pulled in favor of Shreve.Matz (4-8) lost his third straight start, giving up five runs and nine hits in five-plus innings.Giancarlo Stanton reached on a slow bouncer to third leading off the fourth that went for an infield single, and den Dekker took a bad route as he missed a diving backhand grab on Gregorius' liner that bounced to the fence for a tying triple. Andujar followed with a fly to the right-field short porch and that became a go-ahead double when a spectator reached over the wall, caught it and was cited for fan interference.Bird hit an RBI double that glanced off the glove of den Dekker, who tried for a running grab on the warning track, and Romine had a blooper to short center that hit off the glove of a diving den Dekker on a short hop and bounced back toward the infield a run-scoring single.After the Mets closed within a run in the top of the sixth, Bird chased Matz with an RBI single in the bottom half and Judge homered through a blustery wind in the seventh against Tim Peterson. Judge has hit 18 of 26 home runs at Yankee Stadium.WELCOME TO THE SHOWDomingo Acevedo was recalled from Double-A Trenton by the Yankees, who were short in the bullpen after Domingo German failed to finish four innings Friday. A 24-year-old right-hander, Acevedo is 6-6 with a 3.25 ERA in 23 starts. He was watching Netflix in his hotel room and at first thought something was wrong when manager Jay Bell and pitching coach Tim Norton knocked on his door at about 11 p.m. Friday in Binghamton. Acevedo called his mom, in the Dominican Republic, and she also thought something was amiss given the late hour.TOSSEDMets hitting coach Pat Roessler was ejected in the third inning by plate umpire Larry Vanover for arguing from the dugout after a called third strike to Jose Reyes, and DH Asdrubal Cabrera was tossed by third base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after throwing his bat when called out on a checked swing with runners at the corners for the third out of the fifth, then from the dugout threw a batting glove.OUCHNimmo was hit twice, setting a Mets record with 15 this season.TRAINER'S ROOMYankees: 2B Gleyber Torres, out since straining his right hip on July 4, was to start an injury rehabilitation assignment Saturday night with Class A Tampa and is to rejoin Yankees on Wednesday at Tampa Bay.UP NEXTRHP Jacob deGrom (5-4, 1.68), who has the lowest ERA in the major leagues, starts for the Mets and RHP Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.54) for the Yankees.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Cespedes pays dividends in return vs. Yankees 17m ago• 4 min read NEW YORK -- Yoenis Cespedes was on the disabled list the last time the New York Mets posted a series victory.After Cespedes enjoyed a productive night in his return from a hip injury, he is expected to be in the starting lineup as the designated hitter Saturday afternoon when the Mets continue a three-game series at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees.New York's last series victory occurred when the Mets swept the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 18-20. Since then, the Mets are 0-11-5 in their last 16 series, which is why the team could look different in two weeks after the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.On Friday, Cespedes helped the Mets open the series with a 7-5 victory by homering off the left-field foul pole in the fourth inning while reaching base three times.The Mets went 20-37 while waiting for Cespedes to recover and are 20-18 when he plays this season. They are 129-122 when he plays in the last three seasons after re-signing the outfielder following his acquisition at the 2015 trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers.To keep him in the lineup, the Mets said they will be proactive in monitoring how Cespedes feels and even make him a late scratch if necessary."The one thing that we have to do is be proactive in making sure we do everything we can to keep him on the field as much as possible," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said before his team upped its record to 40-55. "He's got a routine that has to go goes through to get ready every night and we're going to monitor that routine quite ostensibly." Although Cespedes enjoyed a successful return and is expected to play, he said his various leg problems are caused by pain in his heels."The only way that I can avoid having my heels from keep bothering me or getting me hurt is having the surgery," he said through an interpreter. "I'm still thinking about (having the surgery) because the recovery process takes 8-to-10 months.'' If Cespedes or the other hitters help the Mets get a lead and create a possible save situation, Jeruys Familia might not be the one closing it out. He did not pitch because Callaway was instructed not to use him because of a possible trade. Robert Gsellman finished off the win as reports surfaced that an unknown team was finalizing a trade for Familia, who has 123 career saves."It's tough," Familia said. "All my career is here. I love my team (and) my teammates." The Yankees aren't concerned with managing a power hitter's pregame routine or holding players out after going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranding 14 Friday while getting 14 hits without a homer."I think it's always frustrating when you have so many opportunities," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "It's always frustrating, but you know it's part of it and the biggest thing is you want to keep creating those opportunities and trust that a good run is production with those guys out there is upon us." Instead, the Yankees are focused on getting some big hits and trying to gain ground in the AL East.After a frustrating showing in the series opener, the Yankees are 5 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox, who beat Detroit 1-0 on Friday. It is New York's largest deficit since April 22. The Yankees are 8-7 in their last 15 games since taking two of three from Boston."There's nothing you can do about it," Boone said. "We got to take care of business. We got to get rolling. I can't look at the scoreboard and will it the other way, unfortunately. So this is about us right now and this is about us getting on a good streak and that starts tomorrow." Sonny Gray, whose maddening inconsistencies were among few things to go wrong before the All-Star break, starts for the Yankees. Gray went 6-7 with a 5.46 ERA in 18 starts and is 10-14 with a 4.73 ERA in 29 starts for the Yankees.Gray's last start was among his best of the season when he allowed three hits and struck out eight in six innings during a 9-0 win on July 11 at Baltimore.While Gray has allowed two earned runs or less in in eight starts, he also has been tagged for at least five runs six times.Perhaps the biggest disparity for Gray is his performance against teams with winning records vs. teams with losing marks. In nine starts against teams with losing marks, Gray is 4-1 with a 3.56 ERA. In nine starts against winning teams, he is 2-6 with a 7.59 ERA.Gray's only previous start against the Mets occurred Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium when he allowed two runs and five hits in six innings of a 5-4 win.Steven Matz, who went 4-7 with a 3.38 ERA before the All-Star break, starts for the Mets. Matz will make his third attempt at getting his 20th career win after taking losses to the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals.He allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay and three runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings on July 12 in a 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals when he opposed Max Scherzer.Matz has allowed two earned runs or fewer nine times and the Mets are 5-4 in those games.Although Cespedes enjoyed a successful return and is expected to play, he said his various leg problems are caused by pain in his heels."The only way that I can avoid my heels from keep bothering me or getting me hurt is having the surgery," he said through an interpreter. "I'm still thinking about (having the surgery) because the recovery process takes 8-to-10 months.''
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (7/21/2018)
MrSoccer
