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Subway Series carries equal weight for New York teams
Saturday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes the biggest Subway Series in recent history, the Royals’ postseason roster and Kris Bryant as your local Chicago Lyft driver. Subscribe for your daily Say Hey!
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
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It’s a good time to be a baseball fan in New York City. The Mets are sitting atop the National League East division with an eight-game lead, while the Yankees are scrambling for a division title -- or, at least, a Wild Card berth -- in the American League. For the first time in 15 years, the annual Subway Series carries hefty consequences for both teams.
On Friday, the Mets trotted out rookie left-hander Steven Matz against the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka for the series opener. Matz shut down the Yankees with five scoreless innings and a four-run lead, thanks in no small part to the three home runs blasted by Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and Juan Uribe. The 5-1 win reduced the Mets’ magic number to eight, and with 15 games left to play and the Nationals a distant second, they’re all but locked into a postseason slot.
Historically, the Yankees have the edge on the Mets, with 58 wins in 102 regular season matchups, but they’ve never faced a loaded lineup like this one. It didn’t help that some of the Yankees’ heaviest hitters -- including Alex Rodriguez, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann -- were benched during Friday’s game, forcing manager Joe Girardi to play a significantly weakened lineup against the hot-hitting Mets.
Of course, a win for the Mets doesn’t necessarily knock the Yankees out of the running, but they could lose valuable wiggle room at 4 1/2 games back of the division-leading Blue Jays, whom they’ll face on Monday to close out their road trip. Regardless of how the rest of the Subway Series plays out, New York City is due for a double helping of October baseball.
- Which contender gives the Yankees the best shot of surviving a Wild Card playoff game: the Rangers, Twins or Astros?
- The Pirates lost third baseman Jung-ho Kang for the remainder of the 2015 season, and now they might start the 2016 season without him, too.
- Listen to the soundtrack of the Blue Jays’ pennant race.
- The offseason is creeping closer, which means it’s the perfect time to evaluate the Braves’ best minor league tools.
- Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez not only has the makings of an impressive major league career, but also belongs to an elite group of young pitchers.
- Here’s what the Royals’ postseason roster might look like in October.
- Which Tigers are in line to receive significant bonuses in 2015?
- Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez has far exceeded expectations in his first major league season, and he owes it all to his diverse pitch repertoire.
- Kris Bryant wears many hats these days: top prospect, star Cubs infielder, Lyft driver.
- Anibal Sanchez has a history of problems in his right shoulder, and that’s not a good thing because it’s not going away.
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