Yankees 9, Mets 1: Robinson Cano belted a pair of two-run homers and Hiroki Kuroda allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings as the host Yankees pummeled Johan Santana and the Mets in the opener of the Subway Series.

Cano, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones connected for back-to-back-to-back homers in the third inning off Santana, who was making his first start since throwing 134 pitches in his no-hitter on June 1.

Staked to a 6-0 lead after three innings, Kuroda flirted with a no-hitter until Omar Quintanilla broke it up with a two-out double in the sixth inning.

Kuroda (5-6) struck out a season-high seven batters to improve to 2-5 lifetime against the Mets. He took a line drive off the foot for the final out of the seventh, but X-rays were negative.

Santana (3-3), who was coming off back-to-back complete games, was battered for six runs on seven hits and tied a career high with four home runs surrendered.

Cano followed a leadoff walk by Alex Rodriguez in the second inning with a two-run blast, the first homer by a left-handed batter off Santana this season.

Cano went deep again in the third inning, a two-run shot for his 11th of the year, before Swisher and Jones followed with solo shots. It was the first time the Yankees went back-to-back-to-back since the same three players connected in Baltimore on Aug. 28, 2011.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cano became the first left-handed batter to ever hit two homers in a game off Santana. The two-time Cy Young Award winner became the second pitcher (Catfish Hunter, 1968) to cough up four homers in his next start following a no-hitter. ... Jones' homer was the 426th of his career, tying him with Billy Williams for 44th place on the career list. ... In Santana's last three starts at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees have outscored the Mets 28-1. ... Cano, Swisher and Jones combined for six hits and eight RBIs. ... The Mets agreed to terms with SS Gavin Cecchini, their first-round pick in this week's draft, on a $2.3 million signing bonus.