 allowed a run over six innings, giving up five hits and no walks. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out six and threw 80 pitches in a tidy return from a strained left hip flexor, which had sidelined him since June 8.The AL East-leading Yankees have won 14 of 16 overall and forced a four-game split in this year's Subway Series. The Mets haven't won the season series since 2013.Urshela also made three stellar defensive plays at third base, and Gregorius had two hits for his career-best sixth straight multihit game. Gleyber Torres added two hits and two RBIs.Mets starter Jason Vargas (3-4) settled after a rocky first inning, pitching three-run ball into the sixth. The left-hander struck out six and allowed seven hits and two walks.Jeff McNeil homered in the first inning, but the Mets failed to rally following consecutive comeback victories against the Braves and Yankees. The Mets have lost eight of 10.DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge hit consecutive doubles leading off the first, and Torres scored Judge with a single for a 2-0 lead.McNeil countered with his leadoff shot in the bottom of the inning, the All-Star's seventh connection of the season.Vargas slowed things down with a steady dose of changeups and kept the Yankees in check until Gregorius' solo homer in the sixth. Wilmer Font relieved Vargas and allowed Urshela's shot, which made it 4-1 Yankees.A night earlier, the Mets ended the Yankees' major league-record homer streak at 31 games.Chad Green pitched two scoreless innings for New York, striking out four. The right-hander has thrown 11 2/3 shutout innings over his last seven outings.Mets left-hander Steven Matz made his second career relief appearance and first since being moved to the bullpen until after the All-Star break. He faced one batter, retiring Gregorius leading off the seventh on four pitches.GLOVE AFFAIRUrshela twice backhanded grounders and threw on the run from foul territory to get outs at first base early in the game, then dived into the hole and threw from a seated position to nab McNeil on a hard grounder in the eighth.Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks leaped at the wall to rob Robinson Cano of extra bases in the sixth inning, andMets catcher Wilson Ramos started an impressive 1-5-3 double play on German's bunt attempt in the fourth.NOT KIDDINGYankees manager Aaron Boone called it ''a joke'' that Torres has not been added to the AL All-Star team. The 22-year-old - an All-Star last year as a rookie - entered Wednesday batting .295 with 19 home runs and a .907 OPS.TRAINER'S ROOMYankees: Boone said RHP Dellin Betances is ''90%'' recovered from the lat strain that has kept him out all season. Betances is still about a week away from resuming throwing. ... TV play-by-play announcer Michael Kay saw a specialist in Boston on Wednesday and will have surgery to correct an issue with his vocal cord. He expects to miss about a month. Radio announcer John Sterling said Tuesday he will skip New York's four-game series at Tampa Bay this weekend beginning Thursday - his 81st birthday. Sterling has called every Yankees game since 1989.Mets: INF Jed Lowrie is ''not close'' to beginning a minor league rehab assignment, manager Mickey Callaway said. Lowrie signed a $20 million, two-year deal in the offseason but hasn't played yet this year. Asked what Lowrie's injury is, Callaway declined to provide specifics, saying only it was a left side issue. Callaway said Lowrie has been participating in baseball activities at the team's facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida.UP NEXTYankees: Start a four-game series at Tampa Bay to close out the first half. LHP J. A. Happ (7-4, 5.23) pitched five innings of two-run ball against the Rays on June 18. Tampa Bay will start RHP Yonny Chirinos (7-4, 3.10).Mets: Open a three-game home series against Philadelphia on Friday. Mets All-Star RHP Jacob deGrom (4-7, 3.32) faces RHP Vince Velasquez (2-5, 4.73).---Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/Jake-Seiner---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Mets, Vargas go for series win vs. YankeesFLMThe New York Mets hope Tuesday's win over the New York Yankees is the start of an unlikely surge back into contention.There's a pretty good body of evidence suggesting that Tuesday's loss is an outlier for the first-place Yankees, and not the beginning of a downward spiral.The Mets will look to earn a season series win from their crosstown rivals Wednesday night when they host the Yankees in the finale of a two-game Subway Series.Left-hander Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.66 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Mets against right-hander Domingo German (9-2, 3.86), who is expected to be activated off the injured list.The Mets rode a late comeback to victory for the second straight game Tuesday, when Michael Conforto's two-run double capped a three-run eighth inning that lifted them to a 4-2 win.The victory was a rare blueprint win for the Mets, who improved to 39-47 -- the third-worst record in the National League -- after receiving 6 1/3 solid innings from starter Zack Wheeler before relievers Justin Wilson, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz blanked the Yankees.It was the first time Mets relievers have tossed scoreless ball since three pitchers combined to blank the Chicago Cubs over the final 4 1/3 innings of a 5-4 win June 21. The Mets' bullpen posted an 8.79 ERA over the next eight games, the first seven of which were losses before the Mets scored five runs in the eighth inning of an 8-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday."This win's a big win for us," Wheeler told reporters. "Hopefully we can get it going from here. It's a good win against a good team. We were able to keep them off the board and put some hits together late." The Mets did something Tuesday no team had done against the Yankees since before Memorial Day: Prevent the Bronx Bombers from homering.The Yankees' major league-record 31-game home run streak -- during which they went an American League-best 20-11 and led the AL with 203 runs -- ended Tuesday. Even with the loss, the Yankees (54-29) still have the best record in the AL."We have really good players and they're really good hitters," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I think they all kind of help each other with (a) kind of strength in numbers. They typically are able to wear down a pitching staff as a group." Vargas didn't factor into the decision in his most recent start last Wednesday, when he allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings as the Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4. German last pitched June 7, when he took the loss after giving up four runs over six innings as the Yankees fell to the Cleveland Indians 5-2. He was placed on the injured list three days later due to a left hip injury.Vargas is 1-7 with a 6.59 ERA in 12 career appearances (11 starts) against the Yankees. German is 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in two starts against the Mets.With a win Wednesday in the fourth and final game of the year between the Big Apple rivals, the Mets will take the season series from the Yankees for just the fourth time since interleague play began in 1997. The Mets also won the season series in 2004, 2008 and 2013.--Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
New York Yankees
New York Mets
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (7/3/2019)
TKWins
