Mets pin costly loss on Yankees

Endy Chavez turned around the Subway Series opener, much like the Mets and Yankees have reversed fortunes this season.

Chavez’s first home run of the year, a go-ahead, two-run shot off Andy Pettitte in the fifth inning, led the New York Mets to a 3-2 victory Friday night at Shea Stadium that dropped their cross-town rivals 10 games back in the American League East for the first time in the Joe Torre era.

Chavez also threw out Johnny Damon trying to stretch a game-opening hit to left into a double, and the Yankees’ sputtering offense rarely threatened after that.

Oliver Perez (5-3) limited the Yankees to only Hideki Matsui’s two-run homer in the fourth inning. After Matsui’s homer, the Yankees didn’t get a runner past first base. Perez gave up five hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked two.

While the Mets (27-14), coming off their first National League East title since 1988, opened a two-game lead over second-place Atlanta, the nine-time defending AL East champion Yankees (18-22) fell 10 games behind division-leading Boston.