Yankees  5    Mets  0

New York Yankees (41-32) at New York Mets (37-35), 7:10 p.m.

Sports Network | June 27, 2009

(Sports Network) - The New York Yankees go after their fourth straight win this evening when they play the middle test of the three-game Subway Series against the Mets at Citi Field.

In the opener of this set on Friday, CC Sabathia was superb and Brett Gardner recorded the first five-hit game of his career, as the Yankees took advantage of some shoddy Mets defense in a 9-1 win.

Sabathia (7-4) allowed just a run on three hits while fanning eight without a walk over seven frames to get the win. The big lefty also had an RBI single and scored once.

Gardner, leading off in place of Derek Jeter, who sat with a heavy cough, fell a double short of the cycle, drove in a pair of runs and scored three times for the Yankees, who won their third straight game on the heels of a three- game slide.

"I actually got lucky in the first couple of at-bats, they kind of fell in," said Gardner. "Sometimes you have good nights and sometimes things don't go your way. I just try to do my best to get on base and make things happen."

Alex Rodriguez had a two-run homer, which gave him 564 for his career and moved him into 11th place on the all-time list.

Mike Pelfrey (5-3) took the loss after giving up four runs -- two earned -- on six hits in five innings of work. Pelfrey has just one win over his last nine starts.

Gary Sheffield homered for the Mets, who have dropped six of 10 and have been outscored 24-1 in their last two losses to the Yankees.

The Yankees seized control of this contest with four runs in the second inning, as the Mets' infield committed three errors. It was their first three-error inning since May 20, 2004.

"We played a bad game. It was just one of those nights," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "I think probably some of it is due because of the amount of players that we have missing."

Hoping to keep the Yanks rolling this afternoon will be right-hander A.J. Burnett, who has lost two of his last three starts, but has pitched well in doing so. Burnett was charged with the loss on Saturday in Florida, as the Marlins managed just one earned run and five hits off of him in 6 1/3 innings of his team's 2-1 setback.

His previous effort had been a brilliant one against the Mets, who mustered only four hits in seven scoreless innings. However, he is just 3-6 lifetime against them with a 3.58 ERA in 17 starts.

Burnett, who is 5-4 with a 4.24 ERA on the year, has allowed three runs or less in his last five starts and six of his last seven.

The Mets will counter with righty Tim Redding, who is 1-2 with a 6.08 ERA. Redding picked up the win on Monday against St. Louis, as he allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings.

Redding, who is winless in his last seven interleague starts (0-2), has never faced the Yankees.

The Yankees took two of three from the Mets earlier this month, but the Mets won last year's series, four games to two. The Yanks, though, took two of three in Flushing a year ago.