INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
The Yankees and Mets meet in the first edition of this year’s Subway Series beginning Friday heading in two distinctly different directions. The three-game series will be played in Queens, but for now, all the momentum is in The Bronx, where the Yankees are living up to their sky-high expectations under first-year manager Aaron Boone, while the Mets and their rookie skipper Mickey Callaway have had a brutal two months since beginning the season 11-1. Here’s how the two teams match up:
AT THE PLATE
G GETTING ON BASE: The Yankees have one of the most relentless offenses in the majors. Even with Gary Sanchez slumping, Giancarlo Stanton off to a slow start in pinstripes and Didi Gregorius’ production having plummeted since a redhot April, the Yankees still lead the AL in on-base percentage, in part due to Aaron Judge’s ability to draw walks and the impact of newcomers Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar. Brandon Nimmo and Asdrubal Cabrera have been bright spots at the top of an otherwise woeful Mets lineup in which almost everyone else has underperformed. HITTING FOR POWER: Judge, Stanton and Sanchez haven’t been the home run-hitting powerhouse many predicted, but each has more homers than anyone on the Mets. Though the Yankees had high hopes for Torres and Andujar, both have wildly exceeded expectations in the power department. The fact Cabrera is hitting home runs is nice, but it’s alarming that he leads the Mets in that category. Yoenis Cespedes’ inability to stay on the field has been a huge blow. Jay Bruce’s power drought has been almost as damaging and Todd Frazier has had little impact. ON THE BASEPATHS: Speed is not a strength for either team, especially because both were built with power in mind. But
Brett Gardner and Gregorius can steal a base. The only speed with the Mets comes from Nimmo and Jose Reyes, who is rarely on base these days.
IN THE FIELD
INFIELD DEFENSE: Again, each squad has emphasized offense over defense and is in the bottom half of the majors in fielding percentage. While that’s not an entirely accurate indication of defensive ability, in this case, neither team makes up for it with exceptional range. Torres has shown an ability to make terrific plays, but also a knack for botching routine ones. Andujar has been OK at third, while
Greg Bird is solid at first. Amed Rosario has been fine at shortstop but hasn’t stood out, and the Mets have no elite players in the infield. OUTFIELD DEFENSE: With Bruce alongside Nimmo and Michael
Conforto, the Mets have a weak link in the outfield. For the Yankees, Stanton has proven to be at least an average left fielder, while
Hicks, Gardner and Judge have been good.
BENCH
Reyes, for now, remains one of the most discussed bench players in the majors. He has been awful this season, but has so far stuck around — making Callaway’s job that much harder, since Reyes has given the Mets nothing offensively. They also have been carrying three catchers, further handcuffing Callaway, with Luis Guillorme and
Jose Bautista sometimes his only other options. Bird’s return has turned Neil Walker into a bench player, but Tyler Austin has been virtually invisible since he was kept up instead of the uber-versatile
Ronald Torreyes. Perhaps a return of Torreyes would make sense in an NL park.
ON THE MOUND
ROTATION: It looks like it will be Masahiro Tanaka vs. Jacob deGrom, Domingo German vs. Steven Matz and Luis Severino vs. Noah Syndergaard. Tanaka has given up at least three runs in five of his past six starts, while deGrom leads the NL in ERA. Matz showed no ill effects from a strained middle finger in his last outing and Syndergaard will be making his first start since the same injury landed him on the DL. German has an 8.14 ERA in his past four starts, while Severino has been almost as dominant as deGrom.
BULLPEN: When your two best relievers could both be in the rotation, that’s probably not a good sign for the bullpen — or the rotation. But
Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman remain in the pen to help protect a rotation that has often faltered. Beyond that, the Mets’ bullpen has been a disaster. Perhaps the return of Anthony Swarzak will help, but Jeurys Familia, Jerry Blevins, Hansel Robles and AJ Ramos (on the DL) have all disappointed. The Yankees bullpen has not been as overpowering as some had thought, but Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, David Robertson and Chad Green are still among the top relievers around and Jonathan
Holder has taken Tommy Kahnle’s spot.
MANAGER
Callaway arrived with the impressive résumé, having served as Terry Francona’s pitching coach in Cleveland for the past five years with the ability to reboot a pitching staff that had lost its way. Boone was the one who had never managed or coached before being plucked out of the TV booth to take over a team ready to compete for a title. While Boone has calmly led the Yankees to a terrific start and mostly avoided costly errors, Callaway has seen several decisions blow up in his face — and made perhaps the biggest snafu of the season, when the Mets hit out of order in a loss to the Reds last month.
INTANGIBLES
Since the beginning of May, the Mets have sunk from first to fourth in the NL East, while the Yankees, winners of seven of their past eight, battle Boston for the top spot in the AL East — as well as the best record in the majors. The Yankees have had a pair of rookies emerge as two of the top hitters in a loaded lineup, while the Mets have battled injuries and missteps throughout the season and have lost six in a row — scoring more than one run just once. Perhaps the return of Syndergaard and Cespedes will change their fortunes.