Atonement: Yankees top Mets as Cano launches tie-breaking homer after poor fielding

In the Subway Series finale between the New York Yankees and New York Mets at Citi Field, another hyped pitcher’s duel began to fizzle by the third inning and completely unraveled by the end of the sixth.

CC Sabathia and R.A. Dickey were supposed to put on a show and while neither pitcher was exceptional, there was still plenty of exciting baseball in the Yankees 6-5 win over the Mets. The game featured the end of an amazing personal run on the mound by Dickey, shoddy defense from both teams, customary two-out run scoring hits by the Mets, comebacks mounted by each team and shut down bullpen work with a hint of suspense from the Yankees.

Dickey, who entered the game on one of the great stretches from a starting pitcher in recent memory, had gone 44 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run until the Yankees batted in the top half of the third inning. After Dickey walked two and allowed a single to load the bases, Mark Teixeira hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the first run. Nick Swisher was next and launched a three-run jack to center field giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead. The Bombers would tack on a run in the fifth, while the Mets scored a run in both the third and fifth innings.

With a tenuous three-run lead in the sixth, Sabathia was undone by his defense and his own inability to close out at-bats with two strikes. In the sixth, the usually sure-handed Robinson Cano couldn’t come up with a grounder to his left, the third Yankees error of the night, and the flood gates opened after that. The Mets loaded the bases after a single and a walk. With two outs, Andres Torres, hit a hard grounder toward he first-base hole, but Teixeira couldn’t come up with it after being screened by the runner, plating two runs. Cory Wade came in to replace Sabathia and let up the game-tying hit to Ruben Tejada. In all Sabathia was touched for nine singles and walked two, resulting in five runs but only one earned in 5 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.

Cano, who in addition to his error had cost one for catcher Chris Stewart on a throw to second on a steal attempt, atoned for his play in the field with a tie-breaking home run to dead center field leading off the eighth inning. It was Cano’s 16th home run of the season and the deciding blow in the game.

Boone Logan pitched the seventh and got the first out in the eighth, before giving way to David Robertson. Robertson was making back-to-back appearances for the first time since he came back from the disabled list. He allowed a single to Torres, who then stole second base and moved to third on a balk. Robertson got Tejada to ground out to third base to end the inning.

Yankees closer Rafael Soriano was on in the ninth with the heart of the Mets order due up. He struck out David Wright in a hard-fought ten-pitch at-bat. Daniel Murphy hit a low liner toward the gap between second and first base that Cano snared for the second out. Lucas Duda singled and kept the Mets hopes alive and brought up pinch-hitter Ike Davis representing the winning run at the plate. Davis, who sat due to an intestinal bug, was not up to the challenge as he lofted a soft fly to Swisher in right to end the game.

The Yankees (43-28) finished the Subway Series 5-1 and Interleague play at 13-5. The Yanks maintain a 2.5 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. The Mets (39-34) stay 3.5 games back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East.

The Bombers head back to the Bronx as the Cleveland Indians come to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series, the first part of a seven-game home stand.