NEW YORK – James McCann doesn’t waste opportunities to remind the New York Mets of what they gave up when they traded him to the Orioles two years ago. Making his return to Citi Field on Tuesday, the veteran catcher homered and drove in three runs to lead a 9-5 victory. McCann, 34, signed a four-year, $40.6 million free-agent contract with the Mets ahead of the 2021 season but
only made it halfway through the deal before New York traded him to Baltimore. As part of the trade, the Mets agreed to pay $19 million of the $24 million left on his contract, including $8 million toward his 2024 salary, according to The Associated Press. After going 4 for 6 with five RBIs in two games against them last year, McCann once again haunted his former team by launching a two-run homer to the second deck in the fourth inning. His swing
helped fuel a breakout night for the Orioles’ offense, which got out to a big enough lead early to overcome a late Mets comeback attempt. Baltimore (74-53) tallied all seven of its runs against starter Jose Quintana over the first five innings to open a 7-1 lead that was trimmed to two before the Mets threw away any hopes of making a comeback with two errors on one play in the ninth. The shadow cast on the Orioles’ dugout by the pregame announcement that starter Zach Eflin was being placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation faded quickly when Anthony Santander launched a two-run home run in the top of the first to give Baltimore an early lead. The Orioles’ switch hitter is up/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72805933/1679733768.0.jpg)
to 37 homers on the year, tying the Atlanta Braves’ Marcel Ozuna for the third most in the majors behind superstars Aaron Judge (45) and Shohei Ohtani (39). Dean Kremer, a suddenly vital piece of their starting rotation amid their slew of pitcher injuries, followed up his impressive last outing against the Washington Nationals with another quality start in Queens. With no starter named for Wednesday after Eflin’s injury, the Orioles needed innings from their right-hander and he delivered by allowing one run on two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over six innings. His 100 pitches on the night marked just the fourth time he’s reached the century mark this season. The Mets scored their lone run against him in the third. Kremer walked the first
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