James McCann homered and drove in three runs against his former team, helping the Baltimore Orioles defeat the New York Mets 9-5 on Tuesday night.
Anthony Santander started the scoring in the first inning with his 37th homer, a two-run shot off the struggling Jose Quintana (6-9).
Ramón Urías and Eloy Jiménez also contributed RBIs for the Orioles, who moved into first place in the AL East, half a game ahead of the New York Yankees, who lost to Cleveland in 12 innings across town.
Dean Kremer (6-9), pitching just hours after Zach Eflin became the sixth Baltimore starter to be placed on the injured list, allowed only two hits and struck out seven in six innings.
“Stressful day and a little bit of a stressful evening,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s going to take a team effort every single night. I was happy with how our guys were really locked in tonight.”
McCann, who was traded by the Mets to Baltimore after the 2022 season, had a sacrifice fly in the second inning and a two-run homer into the second deck in left field in the fourth.
He is 5 for 9 with eight RBIs in 11 plate appearances over three games against New York since last year.
“Anytime you’re facing a team that you previously played for, I think that there’s always a little extra,” Hyde said. “I know that homer felt good. Beautiful swing. It ended up being a huge hit for us.”
McCann signed a $40.6 million, four-year contract with the Mets in December 2020 but hit just .220 with 13 homers in 182 games for them. As part of the trade to Baltimore, New York is paying $19 million of the $24.3 million he was due in 2023 and 2024.
“Do I wish that things had gone differently? Absolutely,” McCann said. “I wish that it would have been the opposite, but it wasn’t and there’s nothing I can do about it now.”
