Bruce's first Mets homer leads to win over Yankees
NEW YORK -- Jay Bruce hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning, leading the New York Mets to a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
Bruce had been hitless in his first 10 at-bats since being obtained Monday from the Cincinnati Reds, but he ended that drought with his 26th home run of the season.
Kelly Johnson also homered for the Mets, who have nine home runs in their last five games. The Mets (56-52) won for the ninth time in their past 23 games, and they are a game out of the National League's second wild-card spot.
Bartolo Colon (10-6) reached double-digit wins for the 13th time in his career. He allowed one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings for his 228th career victory.
Nathan Eovaldi (9-8) allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings.
Addison Reed pitched a hitless eighth, and Jeurys Familia ended his 38th save by getting Rob Refsnyder to bounce into a double play in the ninth.
The Mets sent seven to the plate and took a 4-0 lead in the fifth.
Johnson lined the first pitch of the inning down into the first row of the right field seats for a 1-0 lead.
Eovaldi's hesitation prolonged the inning when he was unable to get Curtis Granderson going back to second on Alejandro De Aza's comebacker, putting runners at first and second. Two batters later, Bruce e drove a 1-1 pitch over the right-center-field fence into the Yankees bullpen.
Colon retired eight straight before consecutive one-out singles to Jacoby Ellsbury and Chase Headley in the sixth. With runners at first and second, Colon needed two pitches to retire Brian McCann and Starlin Castro.
The Yankees scored their lone run when Aaron Hicks singled home Gary Sanchez with two outs in the seventh against Jerry Blevins. Hicks was thrown at second on a force play on a nifty toss by shortstop Matt Reynolds for the final out of the inning.
NOTES: Mets manager Terry Collins gave a terse 276-word response when discussing any connections between Yoenis Cespedes landing on the disabled list due to a strained right quadriceps and the outfielder's golf game. Collins interrupted two questions and emphatically answered another by saying that golf didn't cause the injury. ... Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez did not play again despite having a .442 average (23-for-52) against Mets RHP Bartolo Colon. Manager Joe Girardi said he is unsure when Rodriguez will get his next start and also said nobody from the Yankees' upper management has ordered him not to play the 41-year-old. Coincidentally, Thursday marked the ninth anniversary of his 500th home run and the sixth anniversary of No. 600. ... The Yankees announced RHP Luis Severino will start Tuesday in Boston. ... The Yankees also optioned RHP Chad Green to Scranton/Wilkes Barre and recalled RHP Johnny Barbato from the Triple-A club. ... To replace Cespedes on the roster, the Mets recalled OF Brandon Nimmo.