Alex Rodriguez hit his 659th home run to move within one of Willie Mays for fourth place on the career list as the New York Yankees took advantage of one mistake after another by the suddenly sloppy New York Mets in a 6-4 victory on Sunday.
After falling behind early, the Yankees scored four times in the second inning off Jonathon Niese and took two of three in the first Subway Series of the season.
Rodriguez connected in the first inning at Yankee Stadium. He drove a 2-2 curve from Niese (2-1) to right-center, with the ball bouncing off the top of the fence for a solo shot.
Photo: AFP
It was the fifth homer of the season for A-Rod, who sat out last year while serving a drug suspension.
Houston’s Evan Gattis hit a two-run double in the ninth inning as the American League West-leading Astros completed their first sweep of the Oakland Athletics 7-6.
Gattis matched a career high with four RBIs. His go-ahead double with one out came after the A’s intentionally walked Jed Lowrie to load the bases.
Gattis lined a 1-2 pitch from Tyler Clippard (0-2) to the deepest part of the field.
In Detroit, Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in three runs as the Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 8-6.
Cabrera has three homers this season, all against Cleveland, and nine of his 13 RBIs this season are against the Indians.
Kyle Lobstein (2-1) picked up the win, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings.
Leonys Martin led off the 11th inning with a homer as the Texas Rangers scored another run off Erick Aybar’s error, before holding on for a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels to end a three-game losing streak.
Jose Alvarez (0-1) was working his second inning of relief when he gave up Martin’s 16th homer in 1,121 big league at-bats.
The Pittsburgh Pirates trounced the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-0 after Francisco Liriano pitched effectively into the seventh inning in a combined three-hitter, while Delmon Young drove in five runs and Chris Davis homered as the Baltimore Orioles downed the Boston Red Sox 18-7.
In other games, Adeiny Hechavarria hit a bases-loaded triple after a botched rundown as the Miami Marlins downed the Washington Nationals 6-2, the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Atlanta Braves 5-4, the Tampa Bay Rays downed the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 and the Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals in the resumption of their suspended game.
Adam Lind hit a two-run homer as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St Louis Cardinals 6-3, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-2, and the Minnesota Twins downed the Seattle Mariners 4-2 over 11 innings and the San Diego Padres were 3-1 winners over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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