Series Preview: New York Yankees vs New York Mets (6/10-6-/11)
After an exciting 10th inning win
in Cleveland, the Yankees are coming back home for a two-game series against
the crosstown rival Mets. The Yankees, who are now tied for first place, will
be trying to right the ship after a little slide last week where they lost five
of seven. The Mets on the other hand are coming in a game under .500, and are
third in the NL East, five games back of the Phillies. Last week, they
impressively took two of three from both the Giants and Rockies. In 2018 the Yankees
were 4-2 in the subway series, and hopefully they can use this quick series to
get back on track.
Game
One, Monday, June 10, 7:05 EST (weather pending)
Jason
Vargas (2-3, 3.57 ERA) vs Masahiro Tanaka (3-5, 3.42 ERA)
Masahiro Tanaka will start the
series opener for the Yankees after returning from a short stint on the
paternity leave list. The good news for the Yankees is now that Tanaka has a
kid, he is almost certain to do better (ex. Fred VanVleet). Tanaka should be
very happy this game is at Yankee Stadium. In his last start against the Mets last year, a game held at Citi Field, he
strained both his hamstrings while scoring on a sac fly from third. Tanaka has a 3.02 ERA at home this year, and a 3.89 ERA away from the Bronx. Not many of the Mets hitters are too familiar with Tanaka, as Todd Frazier (.100
BA), and Carlos Gomez (.300 BA) are the only two hitters that have double digit
at-bats against him. Look for the Mets to try and stack their lefties
against Tanaka who have an OPS of .841 against him, while right handed hitters
have an OPS of just .617. This could be an advantage for the Yankees, as
arguably the Mets best hitter this year has been right handed rookie Pete
Alonso, who has 21 homers already this year.
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| Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-USA Today |
Jason Vargas will be on the mound
for the Mets. In his last start he struck out eight on his way to a complete
game shutout against the Giants. Vargas lowed his season ERA from 4.46 to 3.57
in just one start, which might make his numbers look better than he has
actually been. Vargas isn’t much of a workhorse, as he has only been able to go
more than five innings just three times this year. Surprisingly, left-handed
hitters have been better against the left hander Vargas this year, which might
explain the Didi off day on Sunday. Gregorius leads a list of Yankees who have
hit over .300 against Vargas in their career. That list also includes Brett
Gardner, Aaron Hicks, and Cameron Maybin. It should be tough for Vargas to
tally another great start Monday night in the Bronx.
Game
Two, Tuesday, June 11, 7:05 EST
Zack
Wheeler (5-3, 4.61 ERA) vs. James Paxton (3-2, 3.11 ERA)
James Paxton will take the mound
for the Yankees Tuesday night. Injury aside, Paxton has had a very solid year
for the Yanks, but his last start wasn’t quite as sharp. He pitched just 4.2 innings, allowing four runs and seven base runners. The big blow was a home
run off the bat of Randal Grichuk. The only Met who has seen Paxton a few times
is Carlos Gomez, who has three hits in his twelve at-bats against Paxton. One
key to the game for the Yankees could be getting an early lead. Opposing hitters are batting just .202 with a .298 slugging percentage against Paxton when he has pitched with the lead. Those
numbers jump to .298 and .447 respectively when the Yankees are behind.
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| Photo Credit: Paul J. Bereswill |
29-year-old Zack Wheeler will
start game two for the Mets. Even though his ERA isn’t all that impressive,
Wheeler has pitched at least six innings in eleven straight starts, and strikes
out ten batters every nine innings. Wheeler tends to struggle more in the early
innings, though. His ERA in the first three innings is 6.23, in innings four
through six that drops to 3.44, and in innings seven through nine he's at his best, with an ERA of just 2.16. Even though
Cameron Maybin is the only Yankee to face Wheeler more than three times, the
Yankees might have an opportunity to jump on him early and give Paxton an early
lead.
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