The Subway Series arrives as Mets look to make a statement
New York will be the focus of the baseball world for two nights. Plus, Starling Marte is set to go on the shelf for a little while and Edwin Díaz is suspended...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were off on Monday, and will host the first Subway Series of the year against the Yankees at Citi Field tonight
RHP Edwin Díaz was officially suspended 10 games by MLB for violating the foreign-substance policy. He is allowed to appeal
Carlos Mendoza and Harrison Bader are looking forward to facing their old team in the Subway Series (NY Post)
1B Pete Alonso is fourth among first basemen in the second round of All-Star voting. He’s the only Met in the top five at his position (Vote)
Injury Updates 🏥
OF Starling Marte is dealing with bone inflammation in his right knee and has been told to rest for 15 days. He has not yet been placed on the injury list
Roster Moves 🗞️
C Luis Torrens was reinstated from the paternity list
C Joe Hudson was designated for assignment
Down on the Farm 🌾
All four Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday.
OF Stanley Consuegra was promoted to Double-A Binghamton. Consuegra was hitting .228/.337/.381/.718 with seven home runs, 12 doubles and 31 RBIs for High-A Brooklyn
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (37-39) vs. Yankees (52-28)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The Subway Series is a golden opportunity for the Mets! ✍️
The first Subway Series of the year is the perfect litmus test at the perfect time for the 2024 New York Mets.
Winners of four straight series and 13 of their last 17 games, the Mets are entering these next two games against the Yankees with the chance to make a real statement to the rest of MLB.
And keep their positive momentum going as well.
If this resurgent team can continue their rise from the dead and take two of two from their big brother across town, then that will really set the stage for what will be a big July with the trade deadline looming.
If these Mets want to really prove that they are capable of hanging in the Wild Card race, then putting their best foot forward against their cross-town neighbors and one of the best teams in baseball would be the perfect way to send such a message.
It won’t be easy, of course.
Star closer Edwin Díaz has been suspended 10 games for violating MLB’s foreign-substance policy. Barring a successful appeal, that will be a huge miss for the next 10 games. Starling Marte is on the shelf for at least the next couple of weeks. The starting pitching matchup dramatically favors the Yankees too, with dominant ace Gerrit Cole on the mound on Tuesday, and ascending star Luis Gil taking the ball on Wednesday.
Now, Cole is still working his way back from injury and Gil laid an absolute egg in his last outing, giving up seven runs on eight hits in just 1.1 innings against the Orioles. However, those are still two pitchers very capable of completely shutting down a lineup on any given night.
The Mets will also hope that their red-hot lineup can keep pace with a formidable Yankees offense that boasts two of the biggest stars of the game in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. After a slow start, Judge has been on a one-man mission to carry the Yanks to the promised land, hitting .300/.423/.686 with 28 home runs, 70 RBIs and a league-leading OPS of 1.108. Soto, meanwhile, is slashing .305/.431/.563/.994 with 18 home runs, 63 walks and 56 RBIs.
As for the Mets, they’ve had one of the best offenses in all of baseball over the last month-plus. They’ve scored five or more runs in five of their last nine home games, while they’ve scored 10 or more runs three times in the last seven games.
You can also make a compelling argument that now is the perfect time to play the Yankees.
After being volcanic hot for much of the year, the Yanks have cooled off somewhat having lost three straight series and four of their last five. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games. They are also somewhat banged up with no Giancarlo Stanton, no Anthony Rizzo and no Clarke Schmidt. It also doesn’t help that, outside of Judge and Soto, the rest of the lineup has struggled over the last little stretch. For instance, Anthony Volpe hasn’t homered since May 16 and Alex Verdugo is hitting just .156/.225/.244/.469 over the past 14 days.
So, you have one of the best teams in baseball, the gold standard, coming into Citi Field on a cold streak to face what was one of the worst teams in baseball now on an all-time heater and looking to prove that they are actually a very good baseball team that just started out slow.
When you consider that Carlos Mendoza, Harrison Bader and Luis Torrens will be going up against their former team, while the Yankees arrive in Queens with former Mets Michael Tonkin and J.D. Davis in tow, the next two days should be a hell of a lot of fun with storylines galore and plenty on the line.
But, make no mistake about it, the Mets have a golden opportunity to prove their true worth by sweeping the Yankees and continuing to make ground in the Wild Card race.
The Subway Series is always a special event in the baseball calendar, one laced with a boatload of fun that puts New York at the very heart of the entire baseball world.
This one feels a little different given where both teams currently are, and two victories in the first Subway Series of 2024 would prove that the New York Mets are for real and are capable of hanging with the big boys.
It may only be June, but these are two games with a lot more riding on them than just local bragging rights.
The next two days could help to tell us if these Mets are for real or not.
Around the League 🚩
The Dodgers have shut down Clayton Kershaw due to lingering soreness in his shoulder. He will not throw for a week
On the night they paid tribute to the legendary Willie Mays, the Giants walked off the Cubs in an emotional night at Oracle Park
The Phillies turned a 1-3-5 triple play not seen in nearly 100 years, and Bryce Harper had a five RBI night in an 8-1 victory over the Tigers
Jarren Duran collected his first career walk-off hit as the Red Sox erased a 6-2 deficit to beat the Blue Jays at Fenway
Elly De La Cruz showcased his power with a mammoth 439 ft two-run homer that landed in the riverboat deck at the Great American Ball Park
Miguel Rojas got a hit in a 3-0 win against the White Sox, meaning the Dodgers are now 23-0 in games the INF tallies at least one hit
They're already playing shorthanded because of the Diaz suspension, why haven't they placed Marte on the IL, yet?