Slumping OF belts 2 to lead Met blowout
METS 10
ATHLETICS 1
IT’S SAFE to say Chris Young isn’t going anywhere.
Amid rumors he could be released when injured center fielder Juan Lagares returns from the disabled list this week, Young smashed two of the Mets’ season-hightying four home runs as they tattooed their former top prospect, Scott Kazmir, in a 10-1 win over Oakland Tuesday night at Citi Field. The Mets (36-41) have won three straight and five of their last six. Following their 11-run effort on Sunday, the Mets have put together back-to-back games with double-digit runs for the first time since June of 2011. And they did it Tuesday against the team with the best record in baseball at 47-30.
“It felt good, for myself and for my entire team, just to come out there and swing the bats like we did, especially at home,” You ng said. “It’s a nice win against a really good ballclub.”
Former Athletic Bartolo Colon (8-5) tossed eight innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight.
Young’s first bomb to left field came in the second inning right after Curtis Granderson belted a two-run homer to right. It was the first time the Mets had backto-back home runs since Sept. 14 and it put them up, 3-1.
Young’s second longball came off Jim Johnson in the fifth, another shot to left that made it 8-1. It was the 12th multi-homer game of Young’s career, his last coming on April 24, 2013 as a member of the A’s. He also smashed a ball deep to left-center in the seventh, but it died at the warning track and was caught by Coco Crisp. For Young, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs, it was his first game with more than one extra-base hit since May 12 against the Yanks in the Bronx. “He showed us exactly why he’s here,” Terry Collins said.
A report surfaced Monday that the Mets were considering releasing Young, who signed a one-year, $7.25 million contract in the offseason, when Lagares is slated to be activated from the DL this week; Lagares (intercostal) went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts for Double-A Binghamton Tuesday night, playing nine innings in center. GM Sandy Alderson denied the report later Monday.
Before Tuesday’s game, Young, the target of Citi Field boo-birds all season, claimed he was unaware of the report and seemed uncomfortable discussing the subject. The embattled outfielder entered the game hitting .202 with four homers and 17 RBI. “This is the first time I’ve heard of it,” Young said Tuesday afternoon. “(Monday) I didn’t hear anything so I wasn’t aware of it until just now. It’s nothing that the team said, so I feel like there isn’t anything to comment on. As a player, all you do is show up and get ready for that day.”
Asked after the game if Young was close to desperation mode, Collins said, “You’re probably right. That’s a good way to explain it.”
The top eight Mets in the order all got a hit off Kazmir (9-3) and all eight scored at least one run. Kazmir allowed seven runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings. “I think it’d be a little bit different if I had actually played at the big league level with the Mets and had a little bit of history in that regard, but it was just going out here today to take care of business,” Kazmir said .
After Gr a nder son’s R BI groundout in the third, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, in his first game back in the majors after a scorching 15-game stint with Triple-A Las Vegas, launched a three-run homer to left in the put the Mets up 7-1, his fourth home run of the season. His three RBI matched a career high.
That was plenty of support for Colon, who won his third straight. In the sixth, Daniel Murphy added an RBI single and David Wright had an RBI groundout, giving him an RBI in seven straight games, tying a career high.
No two of the Mets’ 10 runs were bigger than the ones Young put over the left-field fence, given his rocky season and what appeared to be a tenuous hold on a roster spot. “I felt amazing today,” Young said. “I felt in control.”