June 16th, 1997. That was the date of the first ever meeting between the teams, a game which the Mets won 6–0 behind Dave Mlicki throwing a complete game shutout. The Yankees would take the next two games and take the opening series. With what we are about to see this season, it marks the 19th series between the two teams. Seven times (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014) these two teams have split the series, the Mets have won the series three times (2004 and 2008, winning four of six, then 2013 a four game sweep) while the Yankees have won the other eight series. The only time the Yankees swept the series was in 2003 when they won all six games. The Yankees have a 56–42 regular-season advantage over the Mets, who have won four straight at Yankee Stadium, but lost both games at home last year.
That was then and this is now. Both teams are coming in hot to the start of this series. The Mets head into this series with the best record in baseball (13-3) and an 11-game winning streak. During this hot streak run of the Mets, they have outscored their opponents 57-31. Starting pitching for the Blue and Orange has been good during this stretch, throwing up a stellar 2.79 ERA, to go along with 60 strikeouts and only 10 walks. To go along with this clutch starting pitching as of late, this Mets team has displayed clutch hitting and reliable relief pitching. Jeurys Familia has done a fantastic job of taking a stranglehold on the closer's job after the suspension of Jenrry Mejia. The Mets bats have been a bit of an intrigue lately. Wilmer Flores has been hitting .421 over the last week, with eight hits and four RBI, going along with two homers. Juan Lagares too has been coming around a little with the bat over the last week, hitting .333 over the last week. Lagares has eight hits four RBI over that span as well. Daniel Murphy still hasn't quite come out of his slump yet, but he has driven in six runs over the last week, which could be a sign of things to come for the Mets second baseman.
When it comes to going into an American League ballpark, most National League teams are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to using a DH. The Mets have a couple of capable bats to use to DH. One is John Mayberry Jr., who is off to a hot start, sort of. he has an on base percentage of .3780 and he is hitting .250, but its coming from a small sample size. Besides if the Mets want to change things up with the DH, besides using Mayberry, they can also keep Duda and Cuddyer, giving those two guys a day off from playing in the field. So the Mets do have a little going for them heading to this series. But as good as it has been, there is a down side to this. The Mets are coming into this Subway Series a little bit banged up. No David Wright (hamstring), no Travis d'Arnaud (broken finger), Jerry Blevins (broken forearm) are all out of the picture due to injuries. In fact, the Mets are also without their three best non-Familia righty relievers in Bobby Parnell (Tommy John surgery), Jenrry Mejia (elbow, suspension) and Vic Black (shoulder). Lefty Josh Edgin (Tommy John surgery) is also out. And finally, Zack Wheeler (Tommy John surgery) is also done for the year. So the Mets have had success but it has come at a bit of a price.
Lets not forget, the Yankees (9-7) have a three-game winning streak after a 7-3 road trip. The Yankees just won three of four from the Tigers in Detroit and have won six of their last seven games overall. They've outscored their opponents 41-20 in the seven games. Oh and the Tigers had the 2nd best record in baseball behind the Mets, so it marks another tough series from the Bronx Bombers. What has made this even more intriguing for the Yankees, is that they started the season off miserable. They went 2-4 to open the year, playing really sloppy baseball. The Yankees committed nine errors in the first six games, but since then have only three. The Bronx Bombers have righted the ship over the last week and a half and are playing much cleaner baseball. Like the Mets, the Yankees are a run prevention team, and at the moment they are performing as capable. Sure the Yankees are dealing with injuries, same as the Mets, but its nowhere near as bad as the boys in Queens. Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) and Chris Capuano (quad) are a few weeks from returning to the rotation and utility infielders Jose Pirela (concussion) and Brendan Ryan (calf) are expected back in May. That's it. The Yankees are definitely the healthier team heading into the Subway Series.
For a while it looked like Alex Rodriguez was going to carry the Yankees. He has four homers and eleven RIB, oh and he is hitting .265 for the year. He has been hitting pretty well this year, despite missing all that time last year with the whole suspension thing he had to take on. A-Rod has responded and somewhat carried the club through the early stages this season. A-rod has some company in the power department. Mark Teixeira does have five home runs and thirteen RBI, both of which lead the club, which is great despite the fact that he's hitting .196 on the season. There have been a few bright spots for the Yanks coming into the series. Chris Young has been hitting over .400 for the last week and is tearing the cover off the ball this year, so expect him to be in the lineup for the series this weekend. Ellsbury and Gardner have both been hitting well, each hitting over 300 for the year.
So here's the dates, times, TV channels and pitching matchups for this first Subway Series:
Friday: Jacob deGrom (2-1, 0.93 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (2-0, 5.00 ERA), 7pm (WPIX)
Saturday: Matt Harvey (3-0, 3.50 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (0-3, 4.35 ERA), 4pm (SNY)
Sunday: Jonathon Niese (2-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 3.12 ERA), 8pm (ESPN)
So there you have it. Subway Series round one is ready to rock. So sit back, relax and get ready for three days of fantastic baseball!
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