Carlos Rodon pitched 6 1/3 sharp innings and the host New York Yankees homered twice off rookie Nolan McLean in a 6-4 victory over the visiting New York Mets on Friday night.
The Yankees (85-62) won for the ninth time in 12 games and 17th time in 24 games while moving closer to clinching their ninth postseason spot in the past 10 seasons.
Cody Bellinger hit a tiebreaking three-run homer off McLean (11-9) in the second inning and Ben Rice added a solo blast in the fifth as the Yankees finished with 13 hits.
Rookie Spencer Jones contributed an RBI single when the Yankees loaded the bases in the first and Ryan McMahon chipped in an RBI single in the eighth.
In his longest start of a season interrupted by a pair of stints on the injured list due to elbow injuries, Rodon (6-3) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits. He struck out Juan Soto twice and finished with eight strikeouts overall while issuing one walk.
Rodon exited to a nice ovation from the sellout crowd after allowing a single to rookie Carson Benge. Paul Blackburn loaded the bases and allowed an RBI single to rookie A.J. Ewing but Brent Headrick caught Francisco Lindor’s liner to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.
Headrick loaded the bases and was charged with a run in the eighth when Marcus Semien lifted a sacrifice fly off David Bednar. Bednar also allowed Ewing’s homer to open the ninth before securing his 33rd save by retiring Soto on a 3-6-3 double play.
There was a pregame ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, featuring various members of the team, including former captain Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and former manager Joe Torre.
McLean allowed five runs and a career-high 10 hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out five, walked one and took his first loss in five starts.
McLean also allowed more than two earned runs for the third time in his past 18 starts and failed to complete six innings for the second time in his past 15 outings.
After Christopher Morel delivered a game-tying RBI groundout in the second, Anthony Volpe and Rice singled before Bellinger hit a full-count curveball into the right field seats for his 14th homer.
Rice extended the lead to 5-1 when he lifted McLean’s first-pitch sinker into the left field seats for his 37th homer.
