The Sports Xchange
Aug 14, 2017
NEW YORK -- Aaron Hicks led off the eighth inning with a go-ahead homer, lifting the New York Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
Hicks continued the most productive season of his career when he hit a 1-1 fastball from Hansel Robles (7-4) into the right field seats. It was his career-high 12th homer and second straight in the eighth inning after he went deep Friday against Boston's Addison Reed.
Hicks' homer helped the Yankees rebound from a pair of losses to the Red Sox. The Yankees won for only the fifth time in 13 games and moved within 4 1/2 games of first-place Boston.
After Hicks homered, Gary Sanchez added insurance with a homer into the right field seats off Erik Goeddel's 1-2 fastball. It was Sanchez's 20th homer, matching the total from his two-month stint in the majors last year.
Aaron Judge hit his first homer in two weeks in the sixth inning, his 36th of the year. He also struck out twice, marking the 31st straight game with a strikeout for the right fielder.
Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes homered for the Mets.
Mets right-hander Rafael Montero allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.
Yankees starter Luis Cessa gave up two runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings while filling in for Masahiro Tanaka (right shoulder inflammation).
Cessa exited after appearing to injure himself during an Juan Lagares' at-bat. Cessa stayed in the game following a visit by manager Joe Girardi and assistant trainer Tim Lentych. He continued after throwing one warmup pitch and then left the game following Lagares' single.
After Chad Green pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, David Robertson (6-2) struck out Cespedes with a runner on to end a scoreless eighth. Dellin Betances pitched the ninth, ending the game by striking out rookie Amed Rosario to notch his seventh save.
The Mets took a 2-0 lead in a span of four pitches in the third.
Granderson lifted a full-count fastball over the right field fence with one out, and two batters later Cespedes drove a 1-1 slider over the right-center-field fence.
After Granderson's 18th homer and Cespedes' 15th, the Yankees loaded the bases in the fourth but only scored once.
Sanchez took a close 2-2 pitch for ball three and then lifted the next offering into left field. Cespedes made the catch, and Hicks beat the throw home for a sacrifice fly that cut the Yankees' deficit to 2-1. The inning ended when Chase Headley flied out.
NOTES: Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (right knee inflammation) threw a bullpen session and said he felt fine. Sabathia will throw another bullpen session within the next two days, and if it goes well, he could be activated from the disabled list shortly thereafter. ... Mets manager Terry Collins said RHP Noah Syndergaard (torn right lat) would throw off a mound for the first time Tuesday and RHP Jeurys Familia (surgery to remove a blood clot) would make a rehab appearance with the team's rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate Tuesday. ... Baseball writer Claire Smith, the winner of the Hall of Fame's Spink Award, was honored before the game and also threw out the ceremonial first pitch.