NEW YORK -- Carlos Beltran heard the critics and vowed he was not finished.
After struggling through 2014 with an injured elbow that needed surgery, he hit .162 this April with no homers and seven RBI.
He was 38, two years removed from his last strong season. His bat was slow.
"I knew that I have a lot of baseball ahead of me and all I needed to do was find the adjustment at the plate and be able to believe in the things that I have done all my career," he said.
Belief turned into reality, and his bat has kept the New York Yankees in contention for a playoff berth.
Beltran hit a three-run, second-deck home run on a 100 mph fastball from Noah Syndergaard in the first inning, Michael Pineda pitched his best game in two months and the Yankees beat the Mets 5-0 Saturday to rebound from an opening loss in the weekend Subway Series.
Brian McCann added a two-run homer in the sixth, the Yankees' 200th home run this season, to quiet the sellout crowd of 43,630 at Citi Field on a sunny late-summer afternoon.
"You need those guys to step up," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Despite a left oblique injury that sidelined him from June 30 to July 19, Beltran is hitting .301 since with 16 homers and 49 RBI since the start of May.
"The first month I wasn't really basically using my lower body," Beltran said. "Looking at a lot of videos, looking at a lot of clips from previous years, I was able to make the adjustment."
And he came through with a huge hit against the Mets, the team he starred for from 2005-10. Mets fans still boo him, angry he took a bases-loaded called third strike from St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright that ended the seventh game of the 2006 NL Championship Series with New York trailing 3-1.
Beltran maintains jeering from Mets' fans bother him "not at all."
"I get booed in Kansas City. I get booed in Houston," he said, mentioning his first two big league teams.
Hoping to reach the postseason for the first time since that strikeout, the Mets saw their NL East lead over second-place Washington sliced to seven games.
After Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner looped singles into short right-center field leading off the game, Beltran fell behind 0-2 in the count, fouled back an offering and sent Syndergaard's 10th pitch of the afternoon, an inside, thigh-high fastball, into the Pepsi Porch in right field.
"I left it right in his wheelhouse," said Syndergaard (8-7).
McCann homered into the visiting bullpen in right-center on a 3-1 sinker at the letters. The Yankees already have hit 53 more home runs than they did all last season.
Trying to reach the playoffs after their first two-year absence since the early 1990s, the Yankees closed within 3 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Toronto and remained four games in front of Houston for the first AL wild card.
Pineda (11-8) had struggled since returning from a month on the disabled list caused by a right forearm strain. He allowed four singles in 5 1/3 innings to win for just the second time since the All-Star break.
Justin Wilson relieved with two on in the sixth, walked Daniel Murphy and then fanned David Wright and Lucas Duda on 97 mph pitches as both batters grimaced, the first of seven straight strikeouts for a Yankees bullpen that didn't allow a hit until a pair of singles off Chris Martin in the ninth.
Andrew Miller got Travis d'Arnaud on a grounder for the final out.
"My hope was I didn't have to use him," Girardi said. "This was a game you can't afford to give away."
AS EARL WEAVER SAID
The Yankees have 36 three-run homers, their most since a team record in 2006, according to STATS.
UP NEXT
In a marquee Sunday night matchup, Matt Harvey (12-7) starts for the Mets for the first time since Sept. 8, and CC Sabathia (4-9) goes for the Yankees. Harvey has pitched 171 2/3 innings and his agent, Scott Boras, has said doctors don't want Harvey to pitch more than 180 this year -- although Harvey says he will be available in the postseason.
After struggling through 2014 with an injured elbow that needed surgery, he hit .162 this April with no homers and seven RBI.
He was 38, two years removed from his last strong season. His bat was slow.
"I knew that I have a lot of baseball ahead of me and all I needed to do was find the adjustment at the plate and be able to believe in the things that I have done all my career," he said.
Belief turned into reality, and his bat has kept the New York Yankees in contention for a playoff berth.
Beltran hit a three-run, second-deck home run on a 100 mph fastball from Noah Syndergaard in the first inning, Michael Pineda pitched his best game in two months and the Yankees beat the Mets 5-0 Saturday to rebound from an opening loss in the weekend Subway Series.
Brian McCann added a two-run homer in the sixth, the Yankees' 200th home run this season, to quiet the sellout crowd of 43,630 at Citi Field on a sunny late-summer afternoon.
"You need those guys to step up," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Despite a left oblique injury that sidelined him from June 30 to July 19, Beltran is hitting .301 since with 16 homers and 49 RBI since the start of May.
"The first month I wasn't really basically using my lower body," Beltran said. "Looking at a lot of videos, looking at a lot of clips from previous years, I was able to make the adjustment."
And he came through with a huge hit against the Mets, the team he starred for from 2005-10. Mets fans still boo him, angry he took a bases-loaded called third strike from St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright that ended the seventh game of the 2006 NL Championship Series with New York trailing 3-1.
Beltran maintains jeering from Mets' fans bother him "not at all."
"I get booed in Kansas City. I get booed in Houston," he said, mentioning his first two big league teams.
Hoping to reach the postseason for the first time since that strikeout, the Mets saw their NL East lead over second-place Washington sliced to seven games.
After Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner looped singles into short right-center field leading off the game, Beltran fell behind 0-2 in the count, fouled back an offering and sent Syndergaard's 10th pitch of the afternoon, an inside, thigh-high fastball, into the Pepsi Porch in right field.
"I left it right in his wheelhouse," said Syndergaard (8-7).
McCann homered into the visiting bullpen in right-center on a 3-1 sinker at the letters. The Yankees already have hit 53 more home runs than they did all last season.
Trying to reach the playoffs after their first two-year absence since the early 1990s, the Yankees closed within 3 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Toronto and remained four games in front of Houston for the first AL wild card.
Pineda (11-8) had struggled since returning from a month on the disabled list caused by a right forearm strain. He allowed four singles in 5 1/3 innings to win for just the second time since the All-Star break.
Justin Wilson relieved with two on in the sixth, walked Daniel Murphy and then fanned David Wright and Lucas Duda on 97 mph pitches as both batters grimaced, the first of seven straight strikeouts for a Yankees bullpen that didn't allow a hit until a pair of singles off Chris Martin in the ninth.
Andrew Miller got Travis d'Arnaud on a grounder for the final out.
"My hope was I didn't have to use him," Girardi said. "This was a game you can't afford to give away."
AS EARL WEAVER SAID
The Yankees have 36 three-run homers, their most since a team record in 2006, according to STATS.
UP NEXT
In a marquee Sunday night matchup, Matt Harvey (12-7) starts for the Mets for the first time since Sept. 8, and CC Sabathia (4-9) goes for the Yankees. Harvey has pitched 171 2/3 innings and his agent, Scott Boras, has said doctors don't want Harvey to pitch more than 180 this year -- although Harvey says he will be available in the postseason.
1:05PM,EDT,September 19,2015
Citi Field, New York, New York
Citi Field, New York, New York
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New York - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Ellsbury singled to right center. | 0 | 0 |
| Gardner singled to right center, Ellsbury to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Beltrán homered to right (378 feet), Ellsbury and Gardner scored. | 3 | 0 |
| McCann struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Bird struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Headley grounded out to first. | 3 | 0 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Granderson struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Céspedes lined out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| Murphy grounded out to third. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Ackley struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Gregorius grounded out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Pineda grounded out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Wright struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Duda singled to right center. | 3 | 0 |
| Flores grounded out to third, Duda to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Conforto lined out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Ellsbury grounded out to catcher. | 3 | 0 |
| Gardner lined out to left. | 3 | 0 |
| Beltrán grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Plawecki lined out to left. | 3 | 0 |
| Syndergaard grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 0 |
| Granderson walked. | 3 | 0 |
| Céspedes grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| McCann grounded out to third. | 3 | 0 |
| Bird struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Headley grounded out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Murphy reached on infield single to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Wright grounded into fielder's choice to third, Murphy out at second. | 3 | 0 |
| Duda struck out swinging. Wright caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Ackley tripled to center. | 3 | 0 |
| Gregorius struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Pineda struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Ellsbury grounded out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Flores flied out to right. | 3 | 0 |
| Conforto flied out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| Plawecki grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Gardner lined out to right. | 3 | 0 |
| Beltrán singled to right center. | 3 | 0 |
| McCann homered to right center (433 feet), Beltrán scored. | 5 | 0 |
| Bird hit a ground rule double to deep right. | 5 | 0 |
| Headley struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Ackley struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Michael Pineda pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Drew at second base. | 5 | 0 |
| Johnson hit for Syndergaard. | 5 | 0 |
| Johnson singled to left. | 5 | 0 |
| Granderson singled to left, Johnson to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Céspedes struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Wilson relieved Pineda. | 5 | 0 |
| Ryan at second base. | 5 | 0 |
| Murphy walked, Johnson to third, Granderson to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Wright struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Uribe hit for Duda. | 5 | 0 |
| Uribe struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Sean Gilmartin pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Murphy at first base. | 5 | 0 |
| Gilmartin relieved Syndergaard. | 5 | 0 |
| Johnson at second base. | 5 | 0 |
| Gregorius grounded out to first. | 5 | 0 |
| Ryan fouled out to catcher. | 5 | 0 |
| Ellsbury grounded out to second. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Justin Wilson pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Flores struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Lagares hit for Conforto. | 5 | 0 |
| Lagares struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Cotham relieved Wilson. | 5 | 0 |
| Plawecki struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Sean Gilmartin pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Céspedes in left field. | 5 | 0 |
| Lagares in center field. | 5 | 0 |
| Gardner grounded out to first. | 5 | 0 |
| Beltrán lined out to left. | 5 | 0 |
| McCann walked. | 5 | 0 |
| Bird struck out looking. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Dellin Betances pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Betances relieved Cotham. | 5 | 0 |
| Young in right field. | 5 | 0 |
| Johnson struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Granderson struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Céspedes grounded out to third. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Bobby Parnell pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Parnell relieved Gilmartin. | 5 | 0 |
| Headley walked. | 5 | 0 |
| Headley to second on wild pitch by Parnell. | 5 | 0 |
| Young struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Gregorius flied out to left. | 5 | 0 |
| Rodriguez hit for Ryan. | 5 | 0 |
| Rodriguez flied out to center. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| James Pazos pitching for New York | NYY | NYM |
| Refsnyder at second base. | 5 | 0 |
| Pazos relieved Betances. | 5 | 0 |
| Murphy grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 0 |
| Martin relieved Pazos. | 5 | 0 |
| Wright struck out looking. | 5 | 0 |
| Cuddyer hit for Parnell. | 5 | 0 |
| Cuddyer reached on infield single to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Flores reached on infield single to shortstop, Cuddyer to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Nieuwenhuis hit for Lagares. | 5 | 0 |
| Miller relieved Martin. | 5 | 0 |
| d'Arnaud hit for Nieuwenhuis. | 5 | 0 |
| d'Arnaud grounded into fielder's choice to third, Cuddyer out at third, Flores to second. | 5 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York Yankees | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Ellsbury CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .254 | .314 | .342 |
| Gardner LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .264 | .348 | .418 |
| Beltrán RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .279 | .337 | .468 |
Betances P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Refsnyder 2B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154 | .154 | .385 |
| McCann C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 23 | .241 | .326 | .465 |
| Bird 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | .248 | .325 | .495 |
| Headley 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | .265 | .328 | .382 |
| Ackley 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .231 | .281 | .399 |
Drew 2B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .202 | .273 | .383 |
Wilson P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Cotham P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Young RF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .247 | .310 | .452 |
| Gregorius SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .265 | .313 | .369 |
| Pineda P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Ryan 2B
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .226 | .270 | .345 |
a-Rodriguez PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .255 | .358 | .501 |
Pazos P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Martin P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Miller P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 34 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 139 | |||
| a-flied out to center for B Ryan in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Bird (6, Syndergaard) 3B: Ackley (2, Syndergaard) HR: Beltrán (16, 1st inning off Syndergaard 2 on, 0 Out); McCann (26, 6th inning off Syndergaard 1 on, 1 Out) RBI: Beltrán 3 (56), McCann 2 (89) Yankees RISP: 1-9 (Beltrán 1-1, Gregorius 0-2, Young 0-1, Pineda 0-1, Rodriguez 0-1, Ackley 0-1, Ellsbury 0-1, Headley 0-1) Team LOB: 4 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (McCann-Gregorius). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Citi Field, New York, NY |
| Attendance | 43,630 (104.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:11 |
| Weather | 80 degrees, sunny |
| Wind | 8 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - John Hirschbeck, First Base - Laz Diaz, Second Base - John Tumpane, Third Base - James Hoye |
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