Brett Baty provided the New York Mets' sole offensive highlight on Sunday, a double off the right field fence at Yankee Stadium, in a 2-0 loss to the Yankees. The hit came against Cam Schlittler, who allowed only one hit over six innings.
Baty, who had missed the previous two games with left knee pain, started at second base. "It's really kind of mean as a manager to give him two days off and tell him to go get Schlittler, after sitting with an off-day on the front side of that," interim manager Andy Green said. "It's good that he is healthy. It’s fun to watch him slide headfirst into second base."
Over his last 15 games, Baty has posted a 1.101 OPS.
Pitcher Nate Lavender also made an appearance, throwing a scoreless seventh inning in his first outing since his streak of 14 consecutive shutout innings to start his major league career ended. He allowed one walk and struck out one batter. "He was right back to being himself," Green said of Lavender. "Getting lazy fly balls, getting above barrels a little bit and then just a relatively efficient inning. He’s a guy we’re excited about."
Rookie pitcher Jonah Tong is scheduled to start for the Mets on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Tong, recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, allowed four earned runs in five innings in his previous start against the Marlins. This marks the third time in four games that a rookie will start for the Mets.
The Mets are set to begin their final homestand of the season, with the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled to follow the Orioles into Queens.
The Mets and Yankees split their season series. Historically, the Mets hold a 72-86 record against the Yankees in regular season play, including a 21-27 record at the current Yankee Stadium.