The first installment of this year’s Subway Series features two teams that have spent most of the season heading in opposite directions, with the Yankees among the top teams in the American League and the Mets among the worst in baseball — and certainly the most disappointing.
But season results haven’t always mattered when the crosstown rivals meet, and the Yankees are in the middle of a rough road trip and perhaps their worst stretch of the season, while the Mets completed their first sweep of the year Thursday.
The Citi Field crowd will be looking for any reason to cheer as the Mets play host to this series beginning Friday at Citi Field.
At the plate
Getting on base
It’s hard to overstate just how bad the Mets offense has been, but we can start here: They entered Thursday with the lowest on-base percentage in the majors and it’s easy to see why. Outside of Juan Soto, who’s had a rough May and gave the Mets a scare by fouling a ball off his ankle Wednesday, hardly any hitters are reaching base consistently. Rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, they hope, will provide help in that area, but Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien have been two of the worst everyday players at reaching base. The Yankees, meanwhile, haven’t been getting many hits — which is cause for concern — but they draw enough walks to be solid in this category. Not surprisingly, Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger have all ranked in the top 20 for most of the year, while Bichette, Semien and Brett Baty are in the bottom 30. Losing Francisco Lindor to a strained calf has only made the situation worse in Queens, while in The Bronx, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been a mess.
