NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka has been every bit the ace the New York Yankees went shopping for last winter. Tanaka pitched a four-hitter for his first major league shutout and the Yankees got home runs from Yangervis Solarte and Mark Teixeira on Wednesday night, snapping a four-game skid with a 4-0 victory over the Mets. "Overall, I think that today was my best day," Tanaka said through a translator. Brian Roberts tripled twice and the Yankees finally beat their crosstown rivals after dropping six straight meetings. The Mets took all four Subway Series games last year and won two slugfests in the Bronx this week. Back home at spacious Citi Field, however, their bats went silent again. "You asked me about the home run barrage? We hit three of them tonight. They were just in the wrong park," manager Terry Collins said about spacious Citi Field. Tanaka (6-0) overwhelmed the Mets with his vast assortment of pitches while spoiling Rafael Monteros big league debut. Montero, the latest to arrive in a line of touted Mets pitching prospects, threw six competitive innings but was no match for the $155 million rookie from Japan. "In some ways, this is a David-and-Goliath matchup. One guys never lost and the other guys never pitched," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said before the game. "So, its interesting. Well see how many rocks Rafaels got." Not enough. Tanaka is 34-0 combined in Japan and North America over his last 42 regular-season starts. He did lose Game 6 of the Japan Series last year -- before earning a save in Game 7. "I just go up there and basically try to win every single game," Tanaka said. The right-hander struck out eight and walked none, throwing 114 pitches during his first complete game in the majors. He lowered his ERA to 2.17 and gave the Yankees taxed bullpen a much-needed break. "I knew what was coming, but I couldnt hit it," Daniel Murphy said. "Hes commanding all his pitches to all zones. The splitter is the equalizer. You dont see it that much, someone using it in any count like that." Tanaka became the first Yankees rookie to begin his career 6-0 as a starter since Hall of Famer Whitey Ford went 9-0 in 1950. That sort of dependability has been sorely needed, with the Yankees already missing CC Sabathia and two other injured starters. "Hes been special," manager Joe Girardi said. Tanaka even singled in the ninth inning for his first major league hit -- giving him one more than Mets pitchers have in 64 at-bats this season. Asked what the highlight of the night was for him, Tanaka smiled. "The first hit," he said, kidding. Girardi said Tanakas teammates "loved it" and gave the pitcher some good-natured ribbing. "When you look at it, hes not that far removed from hitting," Girardi said. "Hes got an idea. He wears a shin guard." Montero (0-1) allowed three runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked two after getting called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to step into the rotation slot previously held by Jenrry Mejia, who was moved to the bullpen. The slim right-hander fanned Derek Jeter in the third for his first strikeout, but was hurt by his defence an inning earlier. With a runner on first and Tanaka on deck, left fielder Eric Young Jr. made an ill-advised dive in trying to catch Roberts sinking liner with two outs. The ball got past Young and to the wall, allowing Solarte to score as Roberts cruised into third with his first triple. Solarte, the ALs leading hitter, sent a solo homer to right in the fourth. He has 23 RBIs in his rookie season, tops on the team. "He just keeps thrilling us all, in a sense," Girardi said. Teixeira lifted Monteros second pitch of the sixth to right-centre for his eighth home run and seventh in his last 15 games. Jeters infield single, a dribbler that barely travelled 20 feet out in front of home plate, scored Brett Gardner in the seventh. "I knew that we were in a little funk, losing four in a row, and I also knew that we hadnt won a Subway Series in a while. So yes, I did want to go out there and try to get a win for us," Tanaka said. NOTES: Yankees RF Carlos Beltran (right elbow) was still unavailable but reserve outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (back) was feeling better, Girardi said. ... Sabathia had his sore right knee drained and the Yankees hope he can return as soon as his 15-day stint on the disabled list is up, Girardi said. Sabathia was examined by Dr. James Andrews and is receiving treatment. ... The Mets plan to commemorate Jeters final regular-season Subway Series game Thursday. Tug McGraw Jersey . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Pedro Martinez Jersey . -- Top-seed Shahar Peer and Canadian Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the second round of the inaugural WTA Citi Open. http://www.metssale.com/mets-gary-carter-jersey/ . Bradley is one of eight players selected to the team who also played in this years World Cup in Brazil. The MLS all-stars will compete against German giants Bayern Munich in Portland on Aug. Steven Matz Mets Jersey . Armstrong was given the rank of "Chevalier" -- or Knight -- in the "Legion dHonneur" in 2005, the last year of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories. Amed Rosario Mets Jersey . For the Miami Heat, that was outstanding news. LeBron James scored the last of his 32 points on a layup that put Miami up for good with 11. ATLANTA -- Arizona manager Kirk Gibson was glad to leave town after a lost weekend at Turner Field. "They outpitched us, they outhit us and they just outplayed us," Gibson said. "Theyd been struggling, but they turned it around. Theyve played well at home." Trevor Cahill gave up home runs to Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla and Brian McCann, and the Diamondbacks lost 6-2 Sunday as the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep. Cahill (3-10) allowed six runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings as the NL West-leading Diamondbacks lost for the fifth time in six games. Cahill is 0-6 with a 7.91 ERA in eight starts since a May 17 win at Miami, but hes received only nine runs of support in his last eight games. The Diamondbacks went 3 for 21 with runners in scoring position over the weekend. Cahills rough outing marked the 22nd straight game without a win from the Diamondbacks rotation -- the longest streak in the majors since San Diego went 25 in a row from April 17-May 14, 2009, according to STATS. "I dont know what to say," Cahill said. "Its embarrassing. Were a team thats in first place, and I want to do my part to contribute. Its just not working out." Paul Maholm (9-6) gave up two runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings for the Braves, who lead the NL East by 6 1/2 games and improved to a big league-best 28-11 at home. The first of Paul Goldschmidts two run-scoring, double-play grounders put Arizona ahead in the first, but McCann tied the score in the second with an opposite-field homer that bounced off the top of the wall in left-centre. Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez was grateful to get through the weekend without any damage from Goldschmidt, who leads the NL with 67 RBIs but went 1 for 9 and stranded four runners in the series. "We did a nice job of minimizing the damage, pitching around him a little bit and getting him out," Gonzalez said. "Hes a hell of a player and having a grreat year, so we did a nice job of handling him.dddddddddddd" Freemans three-run homer made it 4-1 in the third, and Uggla added a two-run drive in the fifth, his 14th home run of the season, for a 6-1 lead. Maholm laboured in the seventh, giving up consecutive singles to Cody Ross and Gerardo Parra and a one-out walk to Cliff Pennington. Maholm struck out pinch-hitter Jason Kubel, and Anthony Varvaro relieved and retired A.J. Pollock on a flyout. Kubel began the game with a .417 average in 12 career at-bats against Maholm. "Hes done well against me, and its probably my last hitter," Maholm said. "I just tried to mix it up and dropped my arm angle on two of the pitches, but its left-on-left and I have all the confidence in getting a guy out." Gibson didnt have immediate answers for why his club is struggling on a trip that continues Monday with the opener of a four-game series at the New York Mets. "Its no one individual," Gibson said. "Its me, its the coaching staff, the players. Were just not clicking very good right now. Weve got to find a way to get it turned around. Its no fun. Im sure its not fun to watch, either. Were not going to panic either way. Were going to come in and try to be loose." NOTES: Cahill had not allowed three homers since Oaklands 10-2 loss at Toronto on April 30, 2010. ... Maholm beat the Diamondbacks in his second straight start after going 0-3 in his first six career starts against them. ... The Braves improved to 9-1-4 in home series. ... Diamondbacks RHP Tony Hill pitched a scoreless seventh and has not allowed a run in 11 straight road appearances. ... Atlanta is 34-6 when outhitting opponents. ... RHP David Carpenter pitched the last two innings for the Braves. ... Freeman homered in consecutive games for the second time this season and first since May 30-31 against Toronto and Washington. ... LHP Tony Sipp pitched the eighth for Arizona. ' ' '