2020-07-18 19:05:00 EDT
The New York Yankees and the New York Mets renew their Subway Series pleasantries in MLB action on Saturday night.
The New York Yankees come into this game with a record of 11-8 before spring training was forced to halt due to the Coronavirus pandemic. DJ LeMahieu and Rosell Herrera lead the Yanks with 10 hits apiece with Herrera boasting a .400 batting average in 25 at-bats. Trey Amburgey and Gleyber Torres each have a team-high 6 RBIs while Kyle Higashioka leads the Bronx Bombers in long balls with 3 home runs as well as a team-high 17 total bases up to this point. Clint Frazier also leads the Yankees with 4 doubles so far in spring training. Michael King is expected to start this one, putting up an 0-1 record with a 3.86 ERA and allowing 11 hits over 9.1 innings with 13 strikeouts.
The New York Mets come into this one hoping to play a bit better than their 8-9 record would indicate before spring training was forced to pause. Jeff McNeil was having a strong spring training, boasting a .462 batting average with 12 hits in 26 at-bats and 3 doubles with a team-high 18 total bases. Brandon Nimmo has 11 hits with 16 total bases and a .379 batting average while Jarrett Parker leads the Mets with a pair of home runs. Robinson Cano has a team-high 6 RBIs while Eduardo Nunez has 5 RBIs and 9 hits up to this point. Rick Porcello is expected to get the start against a familiar foe, posting an 11-10 record with a 3.06 ERA in 26 career starts against the Yankees, but 2019 wasn’t kind to Porcello against the Bombers, going 1-2 with a 12.00 ERA with 20 earned runs allowed in 15 innings across four starts last season. As far as this year’s spring training, Porcello has pitched a team-high 10.2 innings across four starts, thiteming 8 Ks with a 2.53 ERA.
Normally I’m not trying to give up juice in an exhibition game, and the Yankees are going to be an interesting watch over the course of the season. However, I’m not backing the Mets with Porcello on the mound as he’s had a history of getting beat up over the last couple of season and the Yankees were one of the prime culprits to those beatings. The price isn’t too bad on the Yanks either, so I’ll lay the juice with the Yankees in this one.
