THE MATCHUPS
When the Yankees and Mets met last month at Citi Field, the Yankees were still hanging on to the best record in baseball, including a record 6 ½-games better than their crosstown rivals’.
Just four weeks later, the Mets will invade Yankee Stadium with a 4 ½ -game edge on the Yankees, whose offense has gone icecold over the last two weeks with the team’s subpar play extending further back than that. Still, they have some more cushion atop their division than the Mets do, despite Buck Showalter’s crew largely continuing to play well of late.
All of that is to say that there is plenty at stake — more than just bragging rights — during this iteration of the Subway Series, another two-game set. The Mets swept the first one last month, including a walkoff win on a Starling Marte single against Wandy Peralta.
The Post’s Greg Joyce breaks down how the teams match up this week:
AT THE PLATE
GETTING ON BASE: The Mets have been frustrating opposing pitchers with their ability to put the ball in play and find holes, which has led to a quality station-to-station offense. Entering Sunday, they were fifth in MLB with a .257 team batting average and second with a .329 on-base percentage — the latter led by Jeff McNeil and Mark Canha, who were tied for sixth in the NL with a .371 OBP. Francisco Lindor is also playing like the star the Mets acquired him to be, getting on base often for Pete Alonso to drive him in. The Yankees, meanwhile, have most of their top hitters slumping at the same time. Having DJ LeMahieu back in the lineup after missing three games with a toe injury should help, but they have struggled to get on base lately and when they do, they have often been missing the big hit.
POWER: The Yankees still lead MLB in home runs, but are in the midst of a serious power outage. Entering Sunday, they had hit just four home runs over their last seven games, three of them coming in their one win. For a team that often leans on the long ball, they have struggled to score runs without it. Not having Giancarlo Stanton (Achilles tendinitis) for this series won’t help in that regard. Alonso and Lindor are responsible for most of the Mets’ power, but as a team they are still below league average in home runs.
ON THE BASEPATHS
After mostly showing improvement in this area through the first half of the season, the Yankees have had some rough games on the basepaths of late — that extra-inning debacle in Seattle earlier this month stands out. The Mets are less active on the bases, but still grade out as a marginally better base running team than the Yankees, per FanGraphs’ advanced metrics.
IN THE FIELD
INFIELD: The Mets’ infield defense took a hit when the sure-handed Luis Guillorme landed on the injured list, though Lindor still stands out at shortstop. But the Yankees are strong all around the infield, with Jose Trevino shining behind the plate, Josh Donaldson among MLB’s best defensive third basemen and LeMahieu, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres all near the top of the leaderboard in Defensive Runs Saved at their positions, per Fielding Bible.
OUTFIELD: The Yankees’ outfield alignment is a bit in flux these days with Aaron Hicks no longer the starting center fielder, though he was back in that spot Sunday. Aaron Judge has been solid while filling in there, in addition to being strong in right field, while newcomer Oswaldo Cabrera has flashed early (both in the outfield and infield). Starling Marte has given the Mets quality defense in right field while Brandon Nimmo has largely improved in center.
BENCH
The Mets didn’t make any splashy moves at the deadline but they did make it a priority to upgrade their bench and strengthen their platoons. Tyler Naquin is a pinchhit threat against right-handers (despite cooling off some) while Darin Ruf can be used against lefties. The Yankees, meanwhile, don’t provide much punch off the bench these days. With Matt Carpenter injured and Stanton not back until Thursday at the earliest, their bench most days is limited to Hicks, Marwin Gonzalez, Kyle Higashioka and perhaps Estevan Florial.
ON THE MOUND
ROTATION: The timing of the Subway Series works out nicely for the Mets, who are lined up to roll out Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom over the two-game series (unless they decide to reinsert Taijuan Walker, out with back spasms, into the rotation on Tuesday). Scherzer tossed seven shutout innings against the Yankees last month while deGrom has been sharp in his first four starts since coming off the IL. The Yankees will counter with Domingo German and Frankie Montas. German has been solid since taking over a rotation spot, though he has only gone past five innings once. Montas has struggled since being acquired from the Athletics, but the Yankees hope they figured some things out in his last
start, believing that being more aggressive with his sinker can lead to better results. BULLPEN: What was once a huge strength for the Yankees earlier this season has suddenly become something of a question mark. Clay Holmes was struggling before landing on the IL (where Michael King and Chad Green are already lost for the season), leading the Yankees to go closer by committee depending on matchups. Aroldis Chapman was going to figure into that but his command issues have returned over his last two outings. That could leave Scott Effross to handle the ninth inning. The Mets have one of the most dominant closers in the game in Edwin Diaz. And while they lack depth behind him, Adam Ottavino has largely delivered with Trevor May looking better since coming off the IL.
MANAGER INTANGIBLES
Buck Showalter has provided a steady hand for the Mets and has usually pushed all the right buttons from his spot in the dugout. Plus, nobody knows the rulebook better than him. Aaron Boone has preached consistency and faith in
his players throughout their recent slumps, though he has worn his frustrations on his sleeve of late.
The Yankee Stadium crowd has been growing more and more restless in recent days, with its team continuing to struggle.
Will seeing the Mets in the other dugout be the spark the Yankees need to snap out of their funk and rediscover some of their swagger? That confidence has mostly been missing lately. If it doesn’t return, the Mets and their fans could make themselves at home in The Bronx.