MLB

Swisher’s miscue gives Davis decisive homer

Nick Swisher leapt as high as he could to catch the towering fly ball Ike Davis sent down the right field line with two outs in the bottom of the first inning last night.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Swisher couldn’t jump high enough.

Instead, the ball bounced out of Swisher’s glove and over the fence, giving Davis a three-run home run and the Mets what proved to be an insurmountable 5-0 lead after one, helping them go on to a 6-4 triumph over the Yankees at Citi Field in the opening game of the latest Subway Series.

“It definitely hit my glove, there’s no doubt about that,” Swisher said. “I just couldn’t pull it in. I wish I could have.”

The Mets already had scored two runs in the bottom of the first against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, and had two runners on base when Davis came up and swung at the first pitch Pettitte threw him.

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Davis hit the pitch, one Pettitte would later describe as a hanging cutter, high in the air and about 330 feet down the right field line. Swisher kept tracking the ball back toward the right field corner before eventually finding himself with no more room to spare, only to see his leap come up short.

“I kind of lost it halfway up, and I knew it was going back there towards the wall, and when I got the shot, I just couldn’t get up high enough,” Swisher said.

The play proved to be pivotal, as Pettitte eventually escaped from the first inning and settled down to shut down the Mets over the next five innings. The Yankees managed to chip into the lead, thanks to home runs from Andruw Jones and Robinson Cano, but were never able to overcome the initial hole they put themselves in.

“He hit it a mile high, you know?” Swisher said. “I just tried to track it back to the wall, and once you get to the wall, I mean, that wall ain’t exactly five feet tall, you know? So I tried to get up there and make the play, and just couldn’t make it.”