Conforto hits 2 homers as Mets hold off A’s
NEW YORK » Michael Conforto hit a pair of two-run homers and Jerry Blevins rescued the Mets’ bullpen with a five-out save as New York held off the Oakland Athletics 7-5 on Friday night for its third straight victory.
T.J. Rivera put the Mets ahead in the sixth inning with a two-run single that turned into a Little League home run. Rivera came all the way around to score on the play after third baseman Matt Chapman, trying to get Rivera at second, threw the ball away into right field for a costly error that made it 5-3.
Moments earlier, New York loaded the bases when Lucas Duda’s bad-hop infield single struck first baseman Ryon Healy near the temple. Healy left the game and walked off under his own power with a swollen bruise next to his left eye.
Conforto’s second homer made it 7-3 in the seventh. Oakland rallied for two in the eighth, but Blevins replaced closer Addison Reed with the bases loaded and got five straight outs against his former team for his fifth major league save and first this season.
Normally a lefty specialist, Blevins went at least 1 2/3 innings in a game for the first time since 2014 with Washington. He retired AllStar slugger Yonder Alonso on a foul popup and struck out Khris Davis to escape the eighth-inning jam.
“We just tried to find some matchups that worked,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Yoenis Cespedes had three hits after raising eyebrows when he told the San Francisco Chronicle before the game that he wants to play the final season of his career in Oakland, his first big league team.
Cespedes, who signed a $110 million, fouryear contract in the offseason to remain with the Mets, also said A’s manager Bob Melvin is his favorite skipper and he doesn’t think there’s a better one.
“Bob’s a great manager. I don’t blame him,” Collins said after the game. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
After the game, Cespedes clarified his comments while speaking with reporters through a translator and said he meant no disrespect toward Collins or the Mets. ASTROS 8, ORIOLES 7 » Rookie Yuli Gurriel had a career-high four hits, including a home run, and Houston received a gritty pitching performance from Mike Fiers in a victory over Baltimore.
Colin Moran hit his first major league homer and first triple for Houston, and Brian McCann also went deep.
The Astros took an 8-2 lead into the ninth before Adam Jones hit a two-run double off James Hoyt and Jonathan Schoop homered with two on against Chris Devenski. CARDINALS 11, CUBS 4 » Paul DeJong hit a tiebreaking two-run double in St. Louis’ ninerun eighth inning, and the Cardinals cooled off Chicago.
Chicago carried a 3-2 lead into the eighth, looking for its seventh consecutive win. But St. Louis sent 14 batters to the plate in its highest-scoring inning of the season, taking advantage of a combined six walks by three relievers while improving to 4-4 since the All-Star break. INDIANS 13, BLUE JAYS 3 » Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in four runs against his former team, and Cleveland broke open a close game with an eight-run seventh inning to rout Toronto.
Encarnacion, who played the last six seasons with Toronto before signing a threeyear, $60 million contract with Cleveland in January, hit a leadoff home run in the second, broke a 3-all tie in the fifth with a tworun double and added an RBI single in the seventh. RANGERS 4, RAYS 3 » Elvis Andrus homered early, and then snapped a 10th-inning tie with a two-out infield single that gave struggling Texas a victory over Tampa Bay. TIGERS 6, TWINS 3 » Victor Martinez hit two home runs and Detroit beat Minnesota.
Anibal Sanchez (2-0) gave up three runs and six hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 5.2 innings for the Tigers, who lost star Miguel Cabrera to a right clavicle contusion in the fourth inning. Cabrera had X-rays that were negative and is listed as day-to-day.
Justin Wilson pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances.