By JERRY BEACH<\/p>\n
Associated Press<\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2014 Nick Kurtz hit his first home run this season, sending the Athletics to a 1-0 victory Sunday and a three-game sweep of the slumping New York Mets.<\/p>\n
Aaron Civale (2-0) allowed four hits in 5 2\/3 innings as the Athletics won their fifth straight. They swept the Mets for the first time, immediately after winning a series against the Yankees in New York for the first time since 2016.<\/p>\n
The Mets also were shut out in Friday night\u2019s series opener.<\/a> With slugger Juan Soto on the injured list,<\/a> they\u2019ve scored nine runs during a five-game skid \u2014 all at home.<\/p>\n Kurtz, who had 36 homers last season and was the AL Rookie of the Year, launched a 363-foot shot to right field off Freddy Peralta (1-1) in the third inning.<\/p>\n That ended a drought of 48 at-bats, the longest for Kurtz since he went 58 at-bats without a longball immediately following his four-homer game against Houston last July 25.<\/p>\n Jeff McNeil doubled in the fourth and finished the series 6 for 13 against his former team in his first trip to Citi Field since the Mets traded him to the Athletics in December.<\/p>\n Elvis Alvarado got Francisco Lindor to ground out with a runner on first to end the eighth. Joel Kuhnel earned his second save with a perfect ninth on four pitches, prompting a chorus of boos from the Citi Field crowd.<\/p>\n Peralta took the loss despite going six innings for the first time this season. He permitted four hits and three walks with six strikeouts.<\/p>\n The Mets and Yankees have both lost on five consecutive days for the first time, according to Sportradar.<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n The Athletics return home Monday, when RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 4.50 ERA) opposes Texas RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-2, 7.98) in the opener of a four-game series.<\/p>\n The Mets begin a six-game trip Monday, when LHP David Peterson (0-2, 6.14 ERA) faces LHP Justin Wrobleski (1-0, 4.00) and the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n