After last week’s suspension in service, The Subway Beat is back to bring you the all the coverage you need of the baseball locals. A lot has happened in both boroughs so let’s not waste too much time. Remember to take your belongings when exiting the train, and if you see Bill Murray be sure to do your best groundskeeper impression. Our first stop is Queens!
Mets
“This stop is Mets Willets Point,” where the fashion sense has improved and the team is…grinding it out. Since our last release the Metropolitans went west and took on the Dodgers and Giants. That trip yielded mixed results as they went 3-3 in the six games on the left coast. The highlight of the trip was taking the first two games in Los Angeles, as the offense and bullpen stepped up to lead the way. With the trip in the rear view mirror the Mets came home for a weekend set with the Cardinals and unfortunately stumbled through the first two games. One of the few highlights of the pair was the debut of JD Martinez, who hit the ground running at the plate.
The orange and blue came into the Sunday finale of the series with the Redbirds looking to salvage a game, and early on it wasn’t looking good. They trailed twice on the day, including in the 11th inning before evening the score at two. With the winning run at first and two outs, up stepped Mark Vientos, who smacked a game winning blast to left to win it for the home side.
While the win was huge, the moment was even nicer considering who hit the dinger to win it. When the Mets broke camp Vientos had seemingly lost his job to Martinez who had just signed in free agency. His emotional reaction drew sympathy from fans and teammates alike, but credit to him for staying ready to help the team. The celebration at home plate said a lot about how well liked the righty is amongst this tight knit group as well. With the walk off win behind them the Mets looked to keep the good times going Monday night against the Cubs. Cue Luis Severino, who was looking to continue his strong start to the season.
Severino was as sharp as the new city connect uniforms are, as he carved up the Cubbies lineup, taking a no hitter into the eighth inning. Unfortunately the no-hit bid was lost in that frame…and then things took a turn for the worst. With one out and the tying run 90 feet away, defensive replacement Joey Wendle unsuccessfully tried to turn two to end the inning, allowing the Cubs to tie the game. It was an odd decision with the runner at third coming home on contact and Wendle staring right at him, especially considering the speed of Madrigal busting it to first. Wendle, who signed this past winter as a free agent, isn’t exactly a world beater with the bat, so defensive mistakes from a “specialist” like him are simply unacceptable.
Unfortunately the defensive mistake cost Sevy the win, but his line was still brilliant. The righty allowed just the one run over eight innings of work, and struck out five while only walking two. It’s only April but so far the Mets bet on the former Yankee looks smart. The home side went quietly in the eighth which gave way to Edwin Diaz entering a tie game in the ninth. Unfortunately, Diaz isn’t a big fan of a non-save situations (like most closers) and he made a mistake. One that slugger Christopher Morel made him pay for.
All of this amounted to another tough loss for the Mets, which has been a recurring theme of late. While they have certainly turned it around from their 0-5 start, they are settling into playing the way we expected them to preseason. This incarnation of Mets baseball is scrappy and likable, but they just lack that extra punch to get the over the hump. There have been some unexpected performers for this club to this point and I want to highlight two of them here.
The first is righty reliever Reed Garrett, who much like Severino has benefited greatly from the Mets “pitching lab.” After a journeyman career that has seen him appear for four teams, the 31-year old is enjoying his best season yet. Garrett is 5-0 with a 0.61 ERA and 27 punch outs in 14.2 innings out of the pen this year. If those kind of numbers continue this Mets pen will continue to help carry this team.
Meanwhile on the offensive side of things, Tyrone Taylor has surprisingly played a big part in the Mets staying afloat. While top bats have struggled through the first month, the former Brewer has put up solid numbers. Number 15 has hit .279 so far with two homers and 13 RBI’s, in just 61 at bats. While JD Martinez arrival will certainly help, the Mets can’t lose sight of Taylor’s contributions and should continue to get him at bats. Now, with the honors out of the way, all aboard, next stop the Bronx!
Yankees
“Now arriving at 161st Street and Yankee Stadium,” where the Yankees have been hit and miss of late…literally. In just the last few days the bombers offense has combined for 30 runs (15 Saturday and 15 Sunday) only to be shutout Monday night in Baltimore by a score of 2-0, but “that’s baseball Suzyn.” That shutout was the fifth of this April, which previously happened in 1984, a season in which the club finish 87-75 under Yogi Berra. Of course, I had to do my own research on that roster, and it wasn’t exactly murderer’s row. Here’s the lineup from a 3-0 shutout loss at the stadium to the Twins on April 12th of 84’.
| Twins @ Yankees April 12th, 1984 – 3-0 MIN WIN |
| 1. Omar Moreno CF 1-4 |
| 2. Willie Randolph 2B 2-3, BB |
| 3. Don Mattingly LF 0-4, |
| 4. Don Baylor DH 0-2 |
| 5. Dave Winfield RF 0-4 |
| 6. Ken Griffey 1B 0-4 |
| 7. Roy Smalley 3B 2-4, K |
| 8. Butch Wynegar C 1-4, 2K |
| 9. Keith Smith SS 0-2, K |
| NYY SP – Ray Fontenot (L 0-2) |
Now when the offense clicks it is a thing of beauty. It’s just not been doing it with a lot of regularity so far this season. But you would expect more consistency to come as the Yankees top bats (besides Juan Soto) start to break out. It feels like that breakout is starting to come for two guys in particular, the first of which is Anthony Rizzo.
Rizzo really struggled out of the gate, as he wasn’t hitting the ball hard or playing well in the field. But last week was his first solid stretch of the year, as he hit .407, with four home runs and seven RBI’s in the six games against Oakland and Milwaukee. One of those six bombs was the 300th in his wonderful career, a milestone his teammates were thrilled to celebrate.
The other Yankee that is starting to find his way is Aaron Judge, who homered again Sunday, his 6th of the year in Milwaukee. He’s finally off the interstate (his average is up to .212) and is hitting .333 in his last seven games with three homers and seven RBI’s. With Judge perking up, the anticipated tandem of Judge and Soto can finally take over, something that will make the Yanks very hard to beat.
It is worth noting that the Yankee rotation continues to perform admirably, and in some cases excel. Particularly in the case of lefty Carlos Rodon, who more and more looks like the pitcher the Yankees expected him to be. Through his first six starts, number 55 is 2-1, with a 2.48 ERA. His last two starts were easily two of his best yet as he dominated Oakland and overcame a rocky first in Milwaukee to help the Yanks lock up a blowout win. If he can get some more run support, Rodon may throw up a crooked number in the win column.
As you continue to read this series this summer you’ll come to learn that I don’t care much for Aaron Boone as a manager. In my opinion the Yankee skipper is absolutely part of the problem in the Bronx, which is not to say he is directly responsible for losses. My issue with him stems more from his lax attitude and lack of feel for a game. His players commit stupid mistakes repeatedly while he is too married to his “numbers” and habits to see his way through a game. Take last Friday’s loss in Milwaukee as an example. The Yanks battled their way to the lead in extra innings by a score of 6-5. He had already used closer Clay Holmes in the 9th inning of a tie game on the road, and instead of bringing him back for the bottom of the 10th up a run, Boone turns to…Michael Tonkin?!
For those who don’t know who that is, Tonkin is a reliever (if you dare call him that), who has been on three teams already this year (Mets, Twins and Yankees). He’d performed that poorly to this point, so the logical thing to do would be to bring him into a high leverage situation right? Tonkin proceeded to come in and yield tying run almost immediately. More gasoline was poured on the fire as backup infielder and pinch runner Jahmai Jones was thrown out as the “ghost” go ahead in the 11th because he was running on contact…on a ball hit to the mound with less than two outs. You’d be upset if you say that in a little league game, but of course Aaron Boone is fine with it.
Now you may say “Nick you’re being to hard on Boone and the team, this doesn’t happen a lot.” Don’t worry I have the receipts to prove it. Thanks to the Twitter user with the colorful handle above, I have all the proof I need. The Yankees, since the inception of the “ghost runner” are a staggering 8-21 in road extra inning contests since 2020. That’s borderline impossible to pull off but as the clip above shows, when you can’t run the bases or field your position or hit with runners in scoring position, that’s the kind of record you end up with. Miserable fundamentals have been a theme of Boones tenure and it’s frustrating to see it repeatedly.
On Tuesday the Yanks fell in Baltimore by a count of 4-2, while the Mets bounced back with a 4-2 win of their own at Citi. Following their current series with the Orioles the Yanks will come home to take on the Tigers at the stadium for a weekend set. Meanwhile the Mets will go out on the road to face the Rays for an inter-league weekend. We’ll have full coverage of those games and more in our next edition of the beat, so stay tuned for more and enjoy the games.
You can find me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. We have also launched a podcast which carries the same name as the Instagram account. Check out our new mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! Stay tuned for continuing MLB coverage. We’ll be back with more soon!
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