• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Delgado drives in nine as Mets rout Yanks

Jun 27, 2008 - 11:42 PM BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets have been waiting for Carlos Delgado to break out. He finally did Friday - in a huge way.

Delgado hit two home runs and drove in a team-record nine runs as the Mets drubbed the New York Yankees, 15-6, in the opener of the cross-town rivals' two-stadium doubleheader.

Following the game, the teams received a police escort to Shea Stadium, where they will play again on Friday night. The opener, which lasted nearly four hours, ended at 6 p.m. EDT, just two hours before the scheduled start time of the nightcap.

"Great, awesome, when you get hits and RBI," Delgado said. "It feels good to help your team win. I feel good at the plate and I had a good performance."

Delgado entered the doubleheader batting .230 and has been the subject of intense criticism, but he teed off against the Yankees.

In the fifth inning, Delgado gave the Mets a 6-4 lead with a two-run double off reliever Edwar Ramirez. An inning later, Delgado blasted a mammoth grand slam off Ross Ohlendorf that landed in the back of the bleachers near the unoccupied black section in center field and gave the Mets an 11-4 cushion.

But Delgado wasn't done. In his final at-bat in the eighth, he drilled a three-run shot off LaTroy Hawkins into the Yankees' old bullpen in right field.

"To have that type of game on this type of stage says a lot about him," Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel said. "Hopefully, he can keep it going."

The nine RBI matched Delgado's total in his previous 19 games combined and broke the previous Mets' single-game mark of eight set by Dave Kingman in 1976. In addition, Delgado tied a record for most RBI in a game by a Yankees' opponent at Yankee Stadium. Roy Howell of the Toronto Blue Jays also drove in nine runs here in 1977.

"When he gets hot, he can get (really) hot and carry a team," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "It's good to see him on his game and headed in the right direction."

The Mets have won their first three games against the Yankees this season, scoring 33 runs. On Friday, the Nos. 3-5 hitters did all the damage, combining to go 8-for-14. Wright collected four hits and three RBI. Carlos Beltran was only 1-for-4, but contributed a two-run homer and also drove in three runs.

"It's good to see us break out the way we did, the middle of the lineup produce like we did, and stay hot for nine innings," Wright added.

Mike Pelfrey (5-6) was the beneficiary of the Mets' onslaught. He was not sharp, constantly pitching in and out of jams. But despite surrendering eight hits and four runs, the righthander got through five innings as only four of the 12 runners he allowed scored.

"I felt we were going to have more opportunities to score, but in the fifth and sixth innings, they blew the game open," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I liked our at-bats today."

There wasn't much to like about the performance of Dan Giese (1-3), who struggled in his second career start, yielding six runs in four-plus innings.

"Some days, you throw it where you want," he said. "Some days, it goes right over the plate. They're a tough team top to bottom."

Wilson Betemit's infield single put the Yankees ahead, 4-3 in the third. But Pelfrey settled down and the Mets knocked out Giese with three runs in the fifth. They tied it on Beltran's RBI groundout, then took the lead for good on Delgado's two-run double.

The Mets won all three games against the Yankees in the Bronx for the first time in the 12-year history

of interleague play, scoring 33 runs.

"We definitely don't feel good about it," Yankees left fielder Johnny Damon said. "We definitely have our

work cut out for us."