Nimmo, Gonzalez back Vargas in Mets’ win
ATLANTA » Brandon Nimmo and Adrian Gonzalez each drove in two runs, Jason Vargas pitched five scoreless innings and the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Wednesday night.
It was a much-needed reprieve for the Mets, who had lost seven of nine and are 16-25 since starting the season 11-1.
The Braves had rallied to win two of the first three games in the series in the ninth inning, but they couldn’t muster a comeback this time, going down in order as Robert Gsellman earned his second save.
Atlanta dropped into second place in the NL East, one-half game behind Washington, the two-time defending division champion that begins a four-game series at SunTrust Park on Thursday.
Vargas (2-3) pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one intentional walk with two strikeouts.
The Mets got what they needed from Vargas, who was pitching on three days’ rest and began the game 1-3 with a 10.62 ERA in five starts in his first season with New York. PIRATES 2, CUBS 1 » Joe Musgrove pitched seven strong innings and his hard slide led to both teams emptying their benches in another tense moment in the series between NL Central rivals, leading Pittsburgh over Chicago.
Musgrove (2-0) helped end the Pirates’ four-game losing streak by overcoming a shaky first inning to allow one run on seven hits and four walks. He also had five strikeouts, five days after pitching seven scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals to win his Pirates’ debut.
Musgrove slid hard into second baseman Javier Baez to break up a potential double play in the third inning. Baez was knocked off balance but did not hit the ground. No punches were thrown as both teams milled around the infield and there were no ejections. YANKEES 5, ASTROS 3 » Luis Severino struck out 11 in seven overpowering innings, beating longtime Yankees nemesis Dallas Keuchel for the second time this year as New York topped Houston.
Gary Sanchez snapped an 0-for-19 slump with a two-run single and the Yankees took two of three from the reigning World Series champions this week to win the season series 5-2. NATIONALS 2, ORIOLES 0 » Max Scherzer pitched eight innings of two-hit ball to earn his eighth consecutive victory, Bryce Harper hit his 18th home run and Washington beat Baltimor for a three-game sweep. INDIANS 9, WHITE SOX 1 » Corey Kluber pitched six shutout innings and reached eight victories before any AL pitcher as Cleveland rolled to its fifth straight win, over sagging Chicago. BREWERS 3, CARDINALS 2 » Alex Reyes pitched four scoreless innings for St. Louis in his return from Tommy John surgery, but Orlando Arcia hit a tiebreaking RBI single in Milwaukee’s two-run seventh
Making his first major league appearance since Sept. 29, 2016, Reyes allowed three hits, struck out two and walked two. RED SOX 6, BLUE JAYS 4» J.D. Martinez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer over the Green Monster, and Boston completed a three-game series sweep. REDS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 4 » Adam Duvall’s grand slam erased an early fourrun deficit, and Cincinnati rallied for the victory.