NFL
By: Billy Lewis
The first-place New York Yankees are set to visit the first-place New York Mets. Interleague play began in 1997, with the Yankees and Mets playing yearly since and today marks the first time a Subway Series will start with both teams in first place in their respective divisions.
The NL East 1st place #Mets will play the AL East 1st place #Yankees in Game 1 of the #SubwaySeries tonight
First time in history the teams will play each other while both standing at the top of their divisions#LGM
— MetsAvenue (@MetsAvenue) July 26, 2022
The pitching matchups for the first two-game series between the teams would favor the Mets. Tonight’s game is closer in terms of starting matchup, Jordan Montgomery gets the bump for the Yankees and Taijuan Walker for the Mets. Montgomery has been solid all season at 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA. Montgomery’s Achilles heel is the offense seems to go missing in his starts. Walker will be looking to continue that trend for Montgomery, Walker enters at 7-2 with a 2.55 ERA.
On the surface, the game is more important for the Mets. The Mets hold a two-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, while the Yankees sit 12.5 games in front of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees however, are trying to hold off the Astros for the best record in the AL. Two games also separate the Yankees from the Astros.
Game two should heavily favor the Mets pregame. Domingo German will make his second start of the season Wednesday night, and he’ll be going up against Max Scherzer. German got roughed up in his first start against the Astros, allowing five runs in only three innings. Meanwhile, Max Scherzer continues to dominate in his starts.
The Bronx Bombers will also be missing one of their big bats in the lineup. After winning All-Star Game MVP Giancarlo Stanton again finds himself on the IL.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
•Placed OF/DH Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to 7/24) with left Achilles tendonitis.
•Recalled OF Tim Locastro (#33) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 26, 2022
Heavyweight Bout
Despite Stanton’s injury, both teams will still put out two of the best home run hitters in the game. AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge will look to continue his hot hitting since the All-Star Break. Mets’ first basemen Pete Alonso will look to get the better of Judge and angle himself as the best power hitter in New York.
The Subway Series is always an exciting time for fans. Despite the fact that the teams play in different leagues, bragging rights are always at hand during regular season play. The electricity should be amplified this year as both teams sit atop of their divisions. Round one is set to begin tonight at Citi Field with first pitch coming at 7:10.
