Recent trends may last for Mets, Yankees
Mets leftfielder Brandon Nimmo is greeted in the dugout after his two-run home run against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
This Subway Series presented a $300 million question as it steered into Tuesday’s opener at Citi Field.
Were the current trends involving two of MLB’s highest payroll teams actually legitimate? Or were they just a shiny product of recency bias that would be exposed on the sport’s brightest stage, over a 48-hour span in Flushing?
We didn’t have to wait very long for a definitive answer.
The Mets’ resurgence is very real, as they jumped all over reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole for six runs in four innings, a stunning barrage that featured four homers — including a pair by Mark Vientos. No Starling Marte (bruised knee) was no problem, as his replacement Tyrone Taylor drove in the Mets’ first run in the first inning and the assault rolled on from there in a 9-7 victory over the Yankees before a crowd of 42,824 at Citi.
So much for the Mets merely exploiting a pair of sub-.500 teams (Rangers, Cubs) during their 4-2 road trip. Vientos and Harrison Bader each went deep off Cole in the second inning, then Vientos teamed up with Brandon Nimmo for twin blasts in the fourth. The Mets, on a 14-4 burner, have batted .291 with an .871 OPS during that stretch to put them within a game of returning to .500 (38-39) for the first time since May 7 (18-18).
“Confidence is the key to this game,” said Vientos, who homered in three consecutive at-bats, dating to Sunday’s 451-foot rocket at Wrigley Field. “I feel like we’re going to be dangerous. We have a really good ballclub and I feel like this is just the beginning.”
News flash for Vientos: The Mets already are dangerous. They’ve been the best offense in the majors for June, averaging 6.15 runs per game, and judging by the approach they used against Cole, it’s no fluke. This is a well-prepared group of hitters, displaying the right mix of discipline and aggressiveness at the plate. It’s allowed the potential of these Mets to finally shine through.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You have to put together a really good game plan. You still have to go out there and execute and make adjustments. But I feel like we’re going out there with conviction.”
Ask Cole, who sounded almost surprised by how effective the Mets were against him, whether it was laying off certain pitches or attacking his fastball, which admittedly is still a work in progress. Even so, the Yankees were supposed to provide a true test this week — the first formidable foe since the Phillies in London (June 8-9) — and the Mets treated their Bronx rivals like a speed-bump through the first seven innings.
But here’s the thing. While the Yankees were the first team to 50 wins, and still sit atop the AL East, they’re just not very good right now. We thought that before Tuesday’s visit to Flushing after the Yankees lost four straight series, and getting mostly steamrolled by the Mets — before Aaron Judge’s grand slam in the eighth — didn’t do anything to convince us otherwise. If they didn’t already have enough issues, after watching Cole get pummeled, you can add him to the list.
Regardless of their offensive malaise, and it’s been terrible aside from Judge and Juan Soto — the two combined for a pair of home runs Tuesday and six RBIs — the Yankees could count on a decent effort from their rotation. Now that’s become unreliable, too. Luis Gil imploded last Thursday, Carlos Rodon melted down Saturday and now Cole has a 9.00 ERA in two starts since his return from spring-training elbow inflammation.
“He’s Gerrit Cole, he’s capable and he’s been in a pretty good spot here the last month or so as he’s built up, so I don’t think this is inevitable,” manager Aaron Boone said of Cole’s rehab. “But he’s not all the way built up out of spring and he is coming back from an injury and being down. So the build up matters.”
Cole hasn’t looked like a Cy Young winner at the height of his powers, that’s for sure. In two starts, he’s been tagged for 10 hits and eight runs in eight innings — with a total of five strikeouts, and zero against the Mets. The most concerning number, however, was his fastball velocity averaging 95.4 mph, a significant drop from last year’s 96.7 mph. Maybe it’s still early in his comeback, and Cole needs to build more arm strength and stamina, but he wasn’t effective at that velo when the Yankees needed their ace in top form.
“My objective is to get deep into the ballgame and I’m not quite ready to be sitting 97-99 [mph],” Cole said. “And we’re not in the strike zone enough with it. So not only is it an effort of trying to get to 75 pitches, but it’s also [the fastball] not going where you want it to.”
That last part pretty much sums up the Yankees at the moment. Nothing is going the way they want it to — or even need it to. Quite the opposite of the Mets.
“The vibes, the energy coming in here,” Vientos said. “Everybody’s happy.”
That’s what happens when you’re winning. And that’s the difference in this Subway Series.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.