The New York Yankees will have to start winning in bunches while praying for the Toronto Blue Jays to collapse, if they are to make it to the postseason as division titlists. With CC Sabathia on the mound for them later tonight, will the Yankees get past Matt Harvey and the New York Mets? Or will the Mets pad their lead in the National League East at the expense of the Bronx Bombers? Read on for more about this matchup.
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[sc:MLBArticles ]New York Yankees vs. New York Mets Preview
Where: Citi Field, Flushing
When: Sunday, September 20, 2015, 8:00 PM ET
Line: New York Yankees vs. New York Mets – view all MLB lines
Betting on the New York Yankees
[sc:MLB240banner ]The Cy Young award days of CC Sabathia (4-6 4.93 ERA) are long gone, but there are still some rare times that the stocky pitcher plays like it’s 2007. Take his six-inning shutout performance on September 14, allowing no runs on just three hits, while striking out six in a 4-1 win at Tampa. Sabathia, however, settled for a no-decision against the Rays so his quest to get his first W since July 8 continues later tonight at Queens.
When Sabathia takes the mound at Citi Field for the second time this season, he’ll carry with him an ugly 2-6 record, a 4.36 ERA, and a .288 opponents’ batting average across 14 road starts thus far this season. While those numbers doesn’t sound good, Sabathia nevertheless appears to have the edge against some of the Mets’ best hitters. For one, Sabathia has kept Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes in check, allowing the Cuban go for only 1-for-11 (.091) in their career matchup. Curtis Granderson, on the other hand, is just 4-for-22 (.182) against his former teammate. Then there’s Michael Cuddyer, who is only 12-of-58 (.091) in the same matchup.
As for their own offense, the Yankees are counting on the Didi Gregorious and Carlos Beltran to spark some action at the plate. Gregorious is 30-of-96 (.313) in his last 27 games, while Beltran is 29-of-99 (293) over the same stretch. Moreover, Beltran has career slashes of .286/.362/.519 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs in his career at Citi Field.
Dating back to his Cleveland days, Sabathia’s teams are 3-1 in their last four games at Citi Field.
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Betting on the New York Mets
The Dark Knight of Gotham AKA Matt Harvey (12-7 ERA) has no plans of helping the Yankees in their chase for a division title. Harvey, however, will have to fare better than in his most recent start, wherein he was rocked hard by Washington, albeit in an 8-7 win on September 8.
In the Nationals game, Harvey tossed for five plus innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits, while issuing a couple of free passes and striking out six. Despite that bad night, Harvey still owns a 4-0 record and a 2.44 ERA in his last eight starts.
Harvey is currently caught in a sensitive situation, which has manager Terry Collins thinking of letting the Mets’ ace hurl for shorter innings. If that plan pushes through against the Yankees, the Mets’ backend pitching will have to be ready once Collins picks up that phone. So far this season, the Mets’ bullpen is ninth in the majors in ERA (3.29), 11th in FIP (3.50), and fifth in saves (48). The group has been worrisome of late, picking up four blown saves to go along with a 4.61 ERA thus far this September.
If anything, the absence of Mark Teixeira in the Yankees’ lineup is a plus for Harvey. After all, the switch-hitter is 3-for-4 with a homer in his career against the Mets’ righty.
As mentioned, Cespedes has struggled against Sabathia, but the outfielder remains a big threat for the Yankees. After all, Cespedes is 34-for-114 (.298) with 15 homers and 34 RBIs over the last 24 games he’s played in. Rookie Michael Conforto, meanwhile, is 26-for-76 (.342) with five taters and 12 RBIs in his last 24.
The Mets are 7-3 in Harvey’s last 10 home starts.
Writer’s Prediction
The Yankees win, 6-4.
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