Mets take aim at sixth straight win over Yanks

(SportsNetwork.com) - Curtis Granderson and the New York Mets will try to secure their sixth straight victory in the annual Subway Series on Tuesday night as they play the second of two straight versus the New York Yankees in the Bronx.

The Mets won all four meetings with the Yankees last season, then extended their series winning streak with a 9-7 victory on Monday night. Following tonight's contest, the two clubs will head to Citi Field for a pair of games to close the series.

The Yankees had leads of 4-1 and 7-4 on Monday night, but the Mets flashed some resilience in the form of the longball. Eric Young Jr. hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to pull the Mets within one and they went ahead for good in the eighth frame as Lucas Duda singled home the game-tying run before Chris Young launched a two-run homer with one out.

Granderson added a home run in his return to Yankee Stadium. The current Mets outfielder had spent his previous four seasons with the Bronx Bombers, hitting .245 with 115 homers and 307 RBI in 513 games, before signing with the Mets.

The Mets have won two in a row overall following a 1-8 stretch.

"I think tonight we just got some balls that we could drive," Mets manager Terry Collins said, referring to his team hitting four home runs. "(Yankee Stadium) is a great place for a right-handed hitter who can hit the ball to right-center field. This is a great ballpark for them."

Brett Gardner hit his second career grand slam in the setback, while Yangervis Solarte collected three hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Yankees, who have lost three straight overall.

Derek Jeter registered his first three-hit game since Sept. 30, 2012 in the loss, while Alfonso Soriano had a pair of hits to become just the seventh player in Major League history to reach 1,000 hits in both leagues.

"We would have liked to have won this game, especially having the lead late," Jeter said. "We just didn't score enough runs."

The Yankees were without outfielder Ichiro Suzuki due to a stiff back, while designated hitter Carlos Beltran was lifted for a pinch hitter late in the contest due to a hyperextended right elbow that was aggravated prior to the game.

Beltran, who went 0-for-3 before getting pulled, was sent for an MRI.

The Yankees, who recently lost starter CC Sabathia to an inflamed right knee and fellow hurler Michael Pineda to a strained upper back, will try to shake off their issues tonight behind Vidal Nuno.

The left-hander is coming off his first victory of the season as he held the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to one run on four hits and a walk over a career-high 6 1/3 innings on Wednesday.

Nuno, who had allowed seven runs over nine innings combined in his previous two outings, moved to 1-0 with a 5.47 earned run average in seven games this season, including four starts.

The 26-year-old has faced the Mets once prior and took a loss on May 30 of last year despite giving up just two runs on three hits and two walks over six innings of a 3-1 decision.

Zack Wheeler, meanwhile, will face the Yankees for the first time hoping to win for the first time in five starts.

Wheeler has gone 0-1 since a victory on April 14, though he pitched well enough to win last time out. The right-hander ultimately did not factor into a 1-0 loss to Miami on Wednesday as he scattered two hits and five walks over six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

It was a good sign though for the 23-year-old Wheeler, who had allowed seven runs -- four earned -- with just one strikeout over four innings of a loss to Colorado five days earlier.

Wheeler is 1-3 on the season with a 3.89 ERA.