It all started on June 16, 1997 when Dave Mlicki tossed a complete game shutout as the Mets beat the Yankees 6-0.
In their most recent game, on August 13, 2018, Jacob deGrom and the Mets beat the Yankees 8-5.
In between these two games, the New York Mets (32-33) and the New York Yankees (40-24) have played each other 116 times. Two more games will be added to the intercity rivalry Monday and Tuesday at Yankees Stadium as the 2019 Subway Series begins. This will be 43rd series the two team have played. The Mets overall are 49-69 against the Yankees in the regular season and 23-36 at The Stadium. The Yankees have swept the season series twice against the Mets (2003, 2017) while the Mets have returned the favor once, sweeping the Bombers in 2013.
The games between the two teams have been close lately as the last 11 games have been decided by three runs or fewer. The Yankees have won 11 of the last 16 contests against their crosstown rivals.
For the Mets, the Yankee series will be the third inter-league match-up of the year so far in 2019. They split two games against the Minnesota Twins on April 9-10 at Citi Field. In May, the Mets took two out of three from the Detroit Tigers also at home. They do not play another American League team until round two of the Subway Series at Citi Field on July 2-3.
The Yankess have run into a little speed bump over the last week during their road trip to Toronto and Cleveland. The Bombers lost both series two games to one, and with a loss on May 2 to Boston, the Yankees have lost five of their last seven. That’s not to take away from the excellent start the Yankees have had so far this year. They are in first place in the American League East with a 40-24 record, tied with Tampa Bay, seven games ahead of the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox. The Yanks sport the the third best record in the American League despite a plethora of injuries to key players including ace Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to name just a few.
They received more bad news on Sunday as right-handed pitcher Domingo German, who is tied for the league lead in wins with nine, was placed on the IL due to a left hip flexor. Germán became the 19th Yankees player to go on the IL this season, one shy of last year’s total for the entire season.
The Yanks are sixth in the American League in team offense. In 64 games, they’ve scored 339 runs which averages to 5.3 runs per game. Their team batting average is .255. DJ LeMahieu leads the Yankees in batting average (.321) and is tied for the team lead in runs scored (41) and RBIs (41) with Luke Voit. Gary Sanchez leads the team in home runs with 19. Their run differential is +70 which is fourth in the American League.
As far as team pitching, the Yankees ranked sixth in the league with a 3.90 ERA. Their batting average against is only .236. Only Tampa Bay and Houston have a better BAA. The Yankee leader in wins is German who has nine. He also leads in strikeouts with 77 and a 1.11 WHIP. As noted, German was placed on the IL Sunday. Masahiro Tanaka‘s 3.42 ERA is the best on the team while Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman has 18 saves. Chapman had his 15 straight saves streak broken on Sunday in the Yankees 7-6 win over the Indians.
Surprisingly, the Yankees are 12th in the AL in team defense, They have committed 47 errors this season. Only three teams in the league have more errors, the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and the Seattle Mariners. The Yanks have a .979 fielding percentage.
The Yankees are managed by Aaron Boone. He was hired by the team on December 4, 2017 after the Yankees decided not to retain Joe Girardi. He led the Yankees to an impressive 100-62 mark in 2018 making the playoffs in his first year. The 46 year-old played for six teams and was an All-Star once in 2003 when he played for the Yankees.
Boone and Mets manager Mickey Callaway are both sophomore skippers and will be competing in the Subway Series against each other for the second year. The two managers split the six games played last year between the teams.
The Mets are coming off series wins against the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies. They had a 4-2 home stand and will return to Citi Field on Thursday to open a four-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals. On Sunday, they got a masterful pitching performance by Noah Syndergaard who allowed only one infield hit in seven innings against a strong Rockies’ line-up. The run support game largely from Todd Frazier who had a four-RBI afternoon. The home stand also featured a complete game shutout by Jason Vargas on Wednesday as the Mets blanked the Giants, 7-0. It was the eighth career shutout for Vargas.
Many of the Mets stated after the Rockie game that they are looking forward to playing the Yankees. Dominic Smith went so far as to provide a little bulletin board material when he said, “We want the Empire State Building to be blue and orange at the end of the (series).” As for Pete Alonso, it will be the super rookies’ first appearance against the Yanks and first time playing in Yankee Stadium. He remarked, “I’m stoked for it. I honestly don’t know what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be a rivalry and it’s going to be a lot of fun, so I can’t wait.” Alonso further said he looks forward to the “electric atmosphere” the Subway Series will provide.
Callaway noted on Sunday that Alonso will ‘probably’ DH and Smith will play first-base but no final decisions have been made.
Monday, June 10: LHP Jason Vargas vs RHP Masahiro Tanaka 7:05 PM
2019 stats: Vargas 2-3 record, 3.57 ERA (4.27 FIP), 1.346 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9; Tanaka 3-5 record, 3.42 ERA (4.09 FIP), 1.192 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9
Tanaka, 30, returns from a brief paternity leave to face the Mets in the first game of the series. He’s given up eight earned runs in his last 12 innings but, prior to that, had a 2.15 ERA in his previous five starts. His out pitch is his splitter from which he gets the majority of his strikeouts.
This will be Masahiro’s fifth start against the the Mets. He is 1-2 lifetime against them with a 3.09 ERA. Adeiny Hechavarria is three for five lifetime against Tanaka and Carlos Gomez is three for 10.
Jason Vargas as had an incredible turn-around for the Mets. On April 13, he had a 14.21 ERA. Since then he’s posted a 1.85 ERA in his last seven starts. In six of his last seven outings he’s given up zero or one run. His last outing was a complete game gem against the Giants to further lower his ERA to 3.57.
Kendrys Morales has six hits and two homers against Vargas. Other Yankees with multiple hits against him include Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and Cameron Maybin with four each. Didi Gregorius has three hits lifetime against Vargas.
Tuesday, June 11: RHP Zack Wheeler vs LHP James Paxton 7:05 PM
2019 Stats: Wheeler 5-3 record, 4.61 ERA (3.56 FIP), 1.226 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9; Paxton 3-2 record, 3.11 ERA (2.78 FIP), 1.165 WHIP, 12.2 K/9, 3.5, BB/9
30-year-old James Paxton will start game two against the Mets. This will be his third start since returning from a left knee injury. His strikeout to walk ratio is impressive 3.50. With Wheeler as his opponent, there should be plenty of strikeouts in this game. Paxton faced the Mets as a Seattle Mariner and is 1-0 against the Amazins.
The Mets do not have anyone on their current roster that has multiple hits against Paxton.
Zack Wheeler has been an innings-eater for the Mets. He has gone at least six innings in 11 straight starts. He has not pitched the way he did in the second half of 2018, but he has been consistent in 2019. He will be making his 14th Start of the season.
Zack has faced the Yankees only once in his career, in 2014. He got a no-decision against them. Gardner and Voit are both 2 for 3 against Wheeler in their careers.
Prediction: Well, on paper we have a Yankees team that’s 21-12 at home and in first place in the AL East versus a team that’s 13-22 on the road in the Mets and a game under .500. Many will expect a Yankee sweep. But the Subway Series seldom goes as scripted. There are not as many sweeps as you’d expect if you look at the record of this rivalry. Even the great Mariano Rivera blew a save to the Mets, so weird things often happen.
Plus, the Yankees have lost five of seven and the Mets have won four of five. Momentum may only be as relevant as the next day’s pitcher, but the Mets seem to be playing better and the Yanks (who gave up leads in each of the three games against the Indians) may be a little less enthused. So the pick here isn’t sexy, but let’s go for a split between the two teams in two very competitive games.
