NEW YORK--The Mets couldn't get anything done against Yankees starter Javier Vazquez in the opener of the Subway Series.
They did get a great effort out of Hisanori Takahashi, who was filling in for the injured Jon Niese. Takahashi, in his first Major League outing, went six innings, allowing zero runs on only five hits, and he struck out five.
He got out of two major jams in the third and fourth innings, when the Yankees had runners at second and third with one out, each time.
In the third, Takahashi struck out Jeter and got a groundout from Brett Gardner to escape trouble.
In the fouth, Takahashi struck out Nick Swisher and got Francisco Cervelli to fly out to end the jam.
He would cruise to another two scoreless innings.
While Takahashi was shining, so was Vazquez, who delivered his best outing of the season.
In six innings, he allowed all but one hit and struck out six.
He left the game after being hit on the index finger while bunting in the seventh, X-Rays came back negative.
The Mets didn't record their first hit off of Vazquez until an Angel Pagan single in the fifth.
In the seventh, the Yankees got something done against Mets' reliever Elmer Dessens, who was called up to replace John Maine on the roster.
Nick Swisher led off with a single and then the most crucial play of the game happened when Cervelli reached on a throwing error by second baseman Alex Cora, allowing each runner to take two bases.
Rookie outfielder Kevin Russo would then double in both runners to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead, it was the second of his first two career hits.
The Mets had an opportunity in the bottom of the inning off the Yankees struggling bullpen. Alex Cora led off with a single and two batters later Ike Davis reached on a throwing error by catcher Francisco Cervelli.
Joba Camberlain would come in to strikeout both David Wright and Angel Pagan to end the threat.
In the ninth, still trailing 2-0, the Mets put together a two out rally against the great Mariano Rivera.
Jason Bay and Ike Davis combined to produce a run with back-to-back doubles, but David Wright, with the tying run at second, grounded out to second on one pitch to end the game.
After putting together a 10-run outburst on Thursday night, the Mets just couldn't find any offense against Javier Vazquez and the three Yankees relievers, before Rivera.
With the loss, they fall to 20-23 on the season, and will now have to find away to score runs against Phil Hughes and C.C. Sabathia over the next two nights.
Series probable pitchers:
May 22
New York Mets: Mike Pelfrey (2010: 5-1, 3.02 ERA) vs. New York Yankees: Phil Hughes (2010: 5-0, 2.25 ERA)
May 23
New York Mets: Johan Santana (2010: 3-2, 3.72 ERA) vs. New York Yankees: CC Sabathia (2010: 4-2, 3.43 ERA)
Upcoming schedule:
New York Mets:
May 22-23 vs. New York Yankees
May 25-27 vs. Philadelphia Phillies
New York Yankees:
May 22-23 @ New York Mets
May 25-27 @ Minnesota Twins
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