Mets take on Yankees in Round Two of Subway Series

The Mets (79-44) conclude a 10-game road trip with Round Two of the Subway Series against the Yankees (74-48). The Mets swept a two-game set from their crosstown rivals earlier this season at Citi Field, and will try to replicate that success at Yankee Stadium. The only time the Amazins have ever swept a season series from the Bronx Bombers was in 2013, a noteworthy highlight in an otherwise forgettable season of Mets baseball.

The Mets took three of four games against the Phillies over the weekend. Pete Alonso stole the show on Friday, hitting his 30th home run of the season and knocking in his 100th (and 101st and 102nd) runs of 2022, putting him back in the Mets’ record books as the fifth player to hit 30 homers in three different seasons with the club and as the fastest to reach 100 RBI in a season. Brett Baty continued to impress with a two-out, two-strike, two-run single to extend the team’s lead later in the contest. Starling Marte also stole home on a perfectly-executed double steal attempt with Francisco Lindor. Chris Bassitt labored a bit but was able to get through six, thus saving the team’s bullpen for Saturday’s twin bill.

The Mets split their two games against the Phillies on Saturday, taking the first start by an 8-2 score before falling 4-1 in the nightcap. The offense got to Zack Wheeler once again in the first start, as Michael Pérez contributed a two-run single for his first Met run, and New York added two more in the sixth to knock out their former pitcher. Trevor Williams, meanwhile, extended his scoreless inning streak to 24 with four scoreless frames, and the bullpen made the lead hold up the rest of the way. The Mets added four in the ninth to put the game well out of reach.

The Mets’ bats faltered in the nightcap, collecting just one run and three hits en route to a loss. David Peterson struggled in his outing, three earned runs on eight hits over 4 ²⁄₃ innings. The Mets actually led in this game, as a Bailey Falter wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed Lindor to score. That was all they would get for the rest of the evening, as the Phillies tied it in the bottom of the frame on a J.T. Realmuto single and took the lead in the third on an Alec Bohm two-run double. They added an insurance run in the eighth on a Rhys Hoskins run-scoring single to put the game away and hold off the Mets.

Sunday’s game was one of the wildest Mets games in recent memory, which is saying something with some of the games they’ve played this year, and New York came out on top 10-9. José Butto made his major league debut and had a rough go of it in the first, allowing four earned runs before you could even blink. The Mets battled back with two in the second, one in the third, and one in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Alec Bohm hit a three-run homer—his second home run of the afternoon—off Butto, but New York got it back in the seventh on a Mark Canha three-run shot. Jean Segura put Philadelphia back in front in the bottom of the eighth with a solo dinger against Trevor May, but Canha came right back in the ninth with a two-run home run off David Robertson to give the Mets their first lead of the game. Brandon Nimmo added an insurance run with a solo home run, which proved to be huge, because Edwin Díaz had an uncharacteristically shaky outing and allowed his first earned run in months. Despite that hiccup, he recovered and closed out the win for the Mets.

The win, coupled with the Braves mercifully losing their Sunday game to the Astros after winning the first two, extended the Mets’ lead in the NL East to four games. The last six weeks of the season are shaping up to be exciting and nerve-wracking in the NL East race, which could mirror last year’s NL West race between the Dodgers and Giants that saw both teams win well north of 100 games and finish within a game of each other. The Mets are currently on pace to win 103 games, while Atlanta is trending towards a 99-win season.

The New York Yankees dropped 3 of 4 games to the Blue Jays over the weekend. It’s been a rough August for the other New York team, as they’ve dropped two of three to the Mariners, were swept by the Cardinals, and then lost two of three to the Mariners (again), the Red Sox, and the Rays. Overall, the Yankees have gone 5-14 this month as they’ve seen their double digit lead in the AL East shrink eight games.

Monday, August 22: Max Scherzer vs. Domingo Germán, 7:05 p.m. on WPIX

Scherzer (2022): 109.0 IP, 134 K, 20 BB, 8 HR, 2.15 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 0.93 WHIP, 4.2 bWAR

Scherzer allowed four earned runs for only the second time as a member of the Mets, though you can hardly blame him for the most part. He struggled a bit in the third and then had his outing rudely interrupted by a rain delay, and when he returned to the mound following the brief interruption, he ended up retiring 13 straight into the seventh inning. However, he ran into a wall and walked two while allowing one hit to load the bases, at which point he was lifted in favor of Ottavino, who allowed all three runs to cross the plate. In all, he allowed three hits, walked three, struck out eight over 6 ¹⁄₃ innings of work and earned his ninth win as a Met. He shut out the Yankees over seven stellar innings earlier this season. His next victory will be the 200th of his illustrious major league career.

Germán (2022): 28.1 IP, 23 K, 9 BB, 4 HR, 4.45 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 1.41 WHIP, 0.3 bWAR

After a string of three solid starts in which he allowed a total of four earned runs over 16.0 innings, Germán regressed a bit in his last outing against Tampa Bay. He allowed three earned runs in 4 ²⁄₃ innings, while serving up five hits, walking one, and striking out six. The Yankees ended up winning the game, making it only the second time they’ve won a Germán start in six tries this year. One of those losses came to the Mets. In that outing, he was charged with two earned runs on five hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts in 4 ²⁄₃ innings.

Tuesday, August 23: Jacob deGrom vs. Frankie Montas, 7:05 p.m. on SNY

deGrom (2022): 23.1 IP, 37 K, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2.31 ERA, 0.64 FIP, 0.51 WHIP, 0.9 bWAR

deGrom allowed three earned runs in his last start, though he still had a great outing aside from a couple of hiccups. He stumbled in the third and appeared to be fighting with himself on the mound as he tried to straighten himself out, and then settled down to retire 12 straight Braves’ batters before giving up a two-out single in the seventh. He was lifted in favor of Seth Lugo, who allowed a single that scored the in-motion runner all the way from first, which helped hand deGrom his first loss since April 28, 2021. In total, deGrom ended up with three earned runs on his record, as well as five hits allowed, and nine strikeouts in 6 ²⁄₃ innings.

There is a chance that Taijuan Walker may start for the Mets on Tuesday, but that decision will be made later today. This would push deGrom to Thursday’s game against the Rockies.

Montas (2022): 118.2 IP, 117 K, 34 BB, 14 HR, 3.87 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 1.1 bWAR

Montas’ introduction to the Yankees has been a nightmare so far. The right-hander, who arrived in the Bronx from the Athletics with a 3.18 ERA, has already seen it balloon to almost four after just three outings, during which he owns a 9.00 ERA, a 5.55 FIP, and a 1.71 WHIP in 14.0 innings. In his last outing against Toronto, he was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits, with one walk and two strikeouts in 6.0 innings. He was acquired via trade to boost the rotation, especially after the Yankees traded away Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals, but he has been far from that so far.

Prediction: The Mets sweep the Yankees to sweep the season series!