Victorious Mets feel right at home — at Yankee Stadium
Taijuan Walker took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo provided a spark in his return from the injured list and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 8-3 Saturday to open a three-game Subway Series in the Bronx.
The Mets already led 8-0 when Aaron Judge homered with one out in the sixth to end Walker’s bid for the record-tying eighth nohitter in the majors this season.
Walker (7-3) was lifted after 5 2/3 innings and got a standing ovation from thousands of Mets fans among the season-high crowd of 40,047 at Yankee Stadium — the highest attendance for either New York team since before the coronavirus pandemic.
“Let’s go Mets” chants got minimal pushback from frustrated Yankees fans, many believing their season was completely off the rails before the Subway Series began.
Playing for the first time since a brutal 11-8 loss to the Angels on Wednesday, the Yankees slogged through another frustrating defeat with just three hits, all in the sixth inning. They have dropped six of seven and fell to 41-40 after starting the day 91/2 games behind AL East-leading Boston.
Walker, a Yucaipa High graduate, allowed two runs, two hits and two walks, striking out five on 106 pitches. His ERA rose slightly to 2.44 during a breakout season after signing a $23 million, three-year free agent contract in February.
Nimmo had three hits in his first game since a detached hand ligament sidelined him two months ago. The Mets leadoff hitter lifted his average to .333 and his on-base percentage to .435.
Jordan Montgomery (3-3) stranded five Mets baserunners over the first three innings to keep it scoreless, but the visitors broke through in the fifth.
Nimmo hit a one-out single, Francisco Lindor followed with another and Dominic Smith scored Nimmo from second with a single up the middle for a 1-0 lead.
Montgomery walked Pete Alonso to load the bases and was replaced by Lucas Luetge. James McCann made it 2-0 with a broken-bat single, and Smith scored from third on a wild pitch for a three-run lead.
The Mets batted around during a five-run sixth inning that included a two-run double by Smith and another two-run hit by Kevin Pillar. All the runs were charged to Justin Wilson.
Smith had three hits and three RBIs, and Lindor had two hits and two walks.
Yankees reliever Michael King allowed two inherited runners to score but was credited with four scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.
Yankee Stadium was filled nearly to capacity despite sporadic showers after Friday’s scheduled opener was postponed by rain. Blue and orange was well represented.
Bryce Harper homered and drove in two runs, Rhys Hoskins also went deep and Philadelphia defeated visiting San Diego.
Zach Eflin (3-6) allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, and a Philadelphia bullpen that had blown 22 of 40 save chances coming in held the lead for a change. Bailey Falter, Archie Bradley and Ranger Suárez combined for three innings of one-hit, scoreless relief. Suárez earned his first professional save with a perfect ninth.
Manny Machado hit his 13th homer, a two-run drive. The Padre have lost three straight after winning 11 of 12.
Padres starter Yu Darvish gave up four runs and six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and a walk.
Omar Narváez had five hits, Avisaíl García drove in five runs and Jace Peterson added four RBIs as Milwaukee rolled to its 11th straight victory.
It is the Brewers’ longest winning streak since they began the 1987 season with a franchise-record 13 victories in a row.
Eric Lauer (3-3) allowed one run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. TIGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5 >> Eric Haase hit a three-run, insidethe-park homer and later cleared the fence for another three-run drive, and Detroit snapped Chicago’s five-game winning streak.
The Tigers trailed 2-0 in the fourth inning when Jonathan Schoop and Miguel Cabrera drew walks from Dallas Keuchel (6-3). Haase hit a sinking liner that bounced past diving center fielder Billy Hamilton and rolled to the wall as the runners circled the bases.
Haase’s inside-the-park homer was the first by a Tigers player since JaCoby Jones hit one last Aug. 10 against the White Sox. The six RBIs were a career high for Haase, who has four multihomer games this season.
Joey Votto and Tyler Naquin homered and Cincinnati handed Chicago its eighth straight loss.
The Reds’ bullpen pitched four scoreless innings. Ryan Hendrix (4-1), the second of four Cincinnati relievers, got the win. Heath Hembree pitched the ninth for his second save in two days.
Adbert Alzolay (4-8) gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings for the Cubs.
Sandy Alcantara pitched six strong innings, Garrett Cooper homered and drove in two runs, and Miami beat Atlanta.
Alcantara (5-7) walked the first two batters he faced and issued two free passes in the third, but didn’t allow a hit until Ozzie Albies singled with two outs in the third. He gave up one unearned run and five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Jake Odorizzi pitched six-plus stromg innings, and Carlos Correa belted a solo homer and drove in two runs to fuel visiting Houston, which has won the first three games of the series with Cleveland.
Odorizzi (3-3) extended his scoreless innings streak to 18 2/3 before Eddie Rosario crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice by Bradley Zimmer in the fourth. Odorizzi allowed two runs (one earned) and four hits.
Tony Kemp hit a game-winning sacrifice fly to cap a three-run 12th inning, and host Oakland rallied to snap Boston’s eight-game winning streak.
Sean Murphy and Seth Brown singled to start the bottom of the 12th before Jed Lowrie’s tying double off Matt Andriese (23), who couldn’t close out a game that lasted 4 hours, 24 minutes.
George Springer homered for the second straight day, Santiago Espinal hit his first career home run and Toronto beat Tampa Bay in Buffalo.
The Blue Jays won for the 10th time in 13 games. Tampa Bay has lost five straight overall and 10 in a row on the road.
Hunter Dozier drove in three runs and Edwards Oliveras hit a two-run shot, helping Kansas City beat Griffin Jax and Minnesota.
Danny Duffy only lasted four innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks, but the Kansas City bullpen was solid for the second straight day.
Jax (1-1), the first draft pick ever from the Air Force Academy, allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks in his first career start.
Washington Nationals outfielder Kyle Schwarber is nursing a “significant” hamstring strain, manager Dave Martinez announced Saturday.
Schwarber, who was placed on the 10-day injured list, sustained a right hamstring injury while rounding first base in the second inning of the Nationals’ 10-5 loss to the Dodgers on Friday. He slammed his helmet to the ground in disgust and limped off into the dugout.
The injury came on the same day Schwarber was named National League Player of the Month for June. He hit 16 of his 25 home runs last month, going deep seven times while leading off the first inning, and slugged .760 with 30 RBIs.