NEW YORK — Eduardo Escobar hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer that capped a four-run, first-inning rally, and the New York Mets beat the Yankees 6-3 Monday night in a rare Subway Series matchup of first-place teams.

Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo quieted many of the 42,364 fans at Citi Field in the first inning with opposite-field home runs on consecutive pitches from Taijuan Walker (8-2).

But the Mets stormed right back in the bottom half when Starling Marte homered with one out against Jordan Montgomery (3-3). Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso followed with back-to-back doubles, and Escobar’s two-run, two-out homer put the Mets ahead 4-2.

The Mets, who won four of six games against the Yankees last year, held on for a victory before just their third home sellout this year, what they hoped is a World Series rehearsal. Both teams had been in first place when they met in only one previous season, a three-game series from April 24-26, 2015, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“If we’re playing against each other in November, that would be awesome,” Alonso said. “If that happens, the city will just be on fire.”

ORIOLES 5, RAYS 3: Ramón Urías hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning off reliever Colin Poche to undo a marvelous start by Tampa Bay All-Star Shane McClanahan and carry Baltimore to a win at home.

McClanahan pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and was lifted with a 3-2 lead after throwing 81 pitches on a humid night. Poche (2-1) promptly gave up a leadoff single to Adley Rutschman and Urías followed by driving an 0-2 pitch over the left-field wall.

Trey Mancini capped the rally with a sacrifice fly for the surprising Orioles, who moved one game over .500 (49-48) after finishing 52-110 last year.

Keegan Akin (2-1) got the last out in the eighth and All-Star reliever Jorge López worked the ninth for his 19th save.

NATIONAL LEAUE

CUBS 4, PIRATES 2: Willson Contreras drew a standing ovation in perhaps his last home game at Wrigley Field, then keyed an early burst as Chicago won at home for its season-high sixth straight win.

Contreras, one of three members left from the 2016 World Series title team, tipped his cap after being cheered at the plate his first time up. He hit a soft single to center field in a three-run first inning off Bryse Wilson (1-6).

Contreras, an All-Star catcher who can become a free agent after this season, has acknowledged this might be his last homestand as a member of the Cubs before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. He saluted the fans with a fist in his last at-bat in the seventh but struck out against reliever Tyler Beede.

Representatives from the Blue Jays and White Sox were in attendance.

MARLINS 2 REDS 1: Pablo López allowed two hits and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts over seven dominant innings and Miami won in Cincinnati.

Joey Wendle hit a two-run single off Hunter Greene as Miami for the third time in nine games.

A day after Cincinnati piled up 11 runs in a romp, López turned in a stopper-like performance for the Marlins. He overcame Mike Moustakas’s solo homer to finish with a flourish, retiring his final nine batters and striking out the side in the sixth. He didn’t walk anybody while retiring 21 of his last 22 Cincinnati batters.

BRAVES 6, PHILLIES 3: Michael Harris II and Matt Olson homered, Austin Riley stretched his hitting streak to 18 games and Atlanta won in Philadelphia to end a two-game skid.

Dansby Swanson added three hits and Spencer Strider was sharp over six innings as Atlanta remained the only team in baseball without a three-game losing streak this season.

Strider (5-3) allowed three hits and a run as Atlanta improved to 36-13 since June 1. Manager Brian Snitker earned his 500th victory, all with the Braves.

INTERLEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 10, CARDINALS 3: George Springer hit his seventh career grand slam, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a two-run drive and Toronto extended its winning streak to seven by beating short-handed St. Louis in Toronto.

Alejandro Kirk added his 12th homer and Matt Chapman had two hits, including the tiebreaking single in a five-run sixth as Toronto improved to 8-1 under manager John Schneider.

Dylan Carlson hit a solo home run as St. Louis played the first of two games in Canada without unvaccinated sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. The two biggest bats in the Cardinals lineup were placed on the restricted list before the game, along with catcher Austin Romine.

NOTES

YANKEES: New York Yankees placed slugger Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with left Achilles tendonitis.

The move was retroactive to Sunday. Stanton is batting .228 with 24 homers and 61 RBI for the AL East-leading Yankees, who face the New York Mets in the opener of a two-game Subway Series on Tuesday night at Citi Field.

Stanton homered for the American League in last week’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium and was named the Most Valuable Player in the AL’s 3-2 victory. However, coming out of the All-Star Game, Stanton was 0 for 10 with seven strikeouts against Houston and Baltimore.

The Yankees recalled outfielder Tim Locastro from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

RANGERS: Third overall pick Kumar Rocker signed with the Texas Rangers, a week after the right-handed pitcher was drafted again and a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick.

Rocker got a $5.2 million bonus from the Rangers. That is well below the slot value of nearly $7.6 million for the third overall pick.

After shoulder surgery last September, Rocker opened this year with the Tri-City ValleyCats in the independent Frontier League. He was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in five starts, with 32 strikeouts and four walks over 20 innings.

The Rangers will initially send Rocker to their facility in Arizona before deciding where and when he will pitch in their organization.

TWINS: Slugger Miguel Sanó has been activated from the 60-day injured list after missing nearly three months with torn meniscus in his left knee.

The Twins announced the move before starting a two-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

Sanó hurt his knee April 26 while celebrating the Twins’ 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers in a game that was decided on the final play. He played four days later but left the game early with knee pain and later underwent surgery.

He was batting just .093 with one homer and three RBI in 17 games at the time he went on the injured list.

CARDINALS: St. Louis put first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, third baseman Nolan Arenado and catcher Austin Romine on the restricted list before Tuesday’s game at the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Cardinals recalled outfielder Conner Capel and catcher Iván Herrera, and selected infielder Cory Spangenberg from Triple-A Memphis as substitute players for their two-game series north of the border.

Foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 are not allowed to enter Canada, save for limited exceptions that require a 14-day quarantine. Unvaccinated baseball players are placed on the restricted list, where they are not paid and do not accrue major league service time.

Arenado will lose $384,416, Goldschmidt $241,758 and Romine $10,989.

PADRES: Fernando Tatis Jr. is back in the batter’s box, and the San Diego Padres’ $340 million star could face live pitching later this week.

Tatis took batting practice with teammates before Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, his first rounds with the club since breaking his left wrist in spring training.

The 23-year-old is expected to begin facing live pitching later this week, then begin a minor league rehab assignment before eventually making his season debut with the big league team.

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