The Mets have a day off today as they put the Pirates series behind them and get ready to head to the Bronx for a three game subway series against the Yankees.
Coming in to the game, both the Mets (28-16) and the Yankees (25-18) are leading their respective divisions and have each won 6 of their last 10 games. Both teams have won their last three series. That said, they have achieved this success through very different routes. The Yankees have scored 250 runs so far this year, best in baseball. The Mets have enjoyed some very solid pitching, particularly in their starting ranks.
The park favors the hitters, as Yankee Stadium features a very short porch in right field. Both teams have displayed some offense this season - the Yankees have an MLB leading .828 OPS as a team, and the Mets are fifth in MLB with a .759 OPS. Power hitters top the list on both clubs with Aaron Judge (.412/.497/.782) and Pete Alonso (.311/.421/.584) hammering the ball with regularity.
Pitching could make a difference. The Mets starters have given up only 16 home runs this year, which leads MLB by quite a bit (it was even better before Holmes gave up two last night). Yanks starters have given up 29, which is middle of the pack. Both teams' relief staffs are in the top 4 for fewest HR allowed. However, the Mets' relievers are half a run better in ERA (2.98 vs 3.47) and have a slightly better WHIP (1.17 vs 1.20). In the last few weeks, a few cracks have developed in the Mets' pen so we will have to keep an eye on their late inning performance.
The pitching matchups for the series are projected to be:
Tylor Megill (RHP 3.10 ERA) vs Carlos Rodon (LHP 3.29 ERA)
Griffin Canning (RHP 2.36 ERA) vs Clarke Schmidt (LHP 4.73 ERA)
David Peterson (LHP 3.05 ERA) vs Max Fried (LHP 1.11 ERA)
Of course, there will be big story lines for the media to feast upon as there are for any rivalry.
First and foremost will be the return of Juan Soto to Yankee Stadium. Soto passed up on a very generous Yankee offer for an equally generous offer from the Mets and decided to make his home a little farther south. This did not sit well with Yankee fans, and I am sure they will be out in force to remind him. Soto has had a very modest start this year with the Mets, and just about everyone is waiting for him to break out - could this be the time? Will the short right field fence become victim to a Soto power surge? Soto's .845 OPS is a full 100 points below his career average, so it is not "if" but "when" he will surge.
Clay Holmes pitched on Wednesday night, so his return to Yankee Stadium will not be quite as impactful - he will not see action during this series. His battery mate Luis Torrens may be a different story. He was traded to the Mets around this time last season for cash. It was one of those deals where the Yanks just didn't see the value but the Mets managed to find a spark. Torrens could end up making some pivotal plays in this series either with his defense or his bat to show his old team that he can play.
Last year the Mets dominated the series with the Yankees, and I know they are looking for some payback. That won't be a public storyline, but you know that the players are aware.
I think that the day off Thursday will help the Mets regroup from a very lackluster Pirates series. They seemed pretty flat in all three games, and could have easily lost the series if Pittsburgh had capitalized on the many opportunities they had. Coming off a series win against the central division leading Cubs and with the subway series coming up, I can see how the Pittsburgh series could be a mental let-down, but a mentally tough team plays every day like their last so there are no excuses.
On Friday night it will be show time. Let's hope that both teams put on their A games for a thrilling series.
5 comments:
Time for Soto to Socko the Yanks. The Mets better have won at least one of the first 2 games before Max 1.11 Fried goes on Sunday.
Judge will be a Goliath figure, hitting .412 with 15 HRs. And he was hitting “just” .325 over his first 10 games of 2025, so how scalding has he been since?
We drafted Dom Smith instead. Dom is ripping at .239 in AAA.
So many teams are now kicking themselves for passing on Judge.
Even I didn't think that much of him and was very happy when they called out Dom's name
Scouting is simply not an exact science
Mack, true, but theMets sure seem to be getting much improved results in the Stearns era drafting.
For-me, it is simple: power arms, power bats. Judge could have turned into another hyper strikeout guy, but he hasn’t. If I was a big guy, especially one prone to Ks, I’d study his swing and his at bats. Reimer recently said how much he fixed his swing this year with the lab, proving one thing: flawed swings can be improved upon.
The Yanks have another big bat that will head to the Bronx soon
A guy I wanted the Mets to draft
Spencer Jones
Last year it was pretty easy to limit Judge and Soto because there was no one else in the lineup to fear. This year the Yanks lineup is a little tougher so it will take some pretty crafty pitching. Our staff seems to be up to the task, but time will tell...
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