Juan Soto said he’s “expecting the worst” from Yankees fans, and though he clearly said it in a tongue-in-cheek way, the only thing pinstripe fans find funny is that Soto now has to wear a Mets jersey.
New York City will be the center of the sports universe Friday night with the Knicks able to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals with a win at Madison Square Garden, and Soto returning to Yankee Stadium for the first time since Game 5 of the World Series. The generational hitter who left the Yankees for the Mets in December in an unprecedented move is expecting a hostile reception from the Bronx faithful. He knows many still resent him for spurning the team that has always been top dog in the Big Apple, even if he only did play there for a year.
“Any opposing player going in, we’ll see how he’s treated,” said right-hander Clay Holmes, another Yankee-turned-Met. “I think his focus is going to be to put up good at-bats. He’s always able to lock it in for those big moments. It’ll be fun to watch him.”
Soto can take the heat.
“I remember when I was a kid, they used to tell me, ‘If they’re not booing you, you’re not doing things right,’” Soto said earlier this season. “So I feel like every time they boo me, it means something for me.”
Both teams come into the series in first place in their respective divisions. Here’s the view from each dugout.
SCOUTING THE METS
Historically, each team lines up its top pitchers for the annual home-and-home series. But manager Carlos Mendoza decided not to change his rotation, saying he sees no reason to with five talented starting pitchers, so Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning and David Peterson will take the ball this weekend.
The Mets are the only team in baseball with a sub-3.00 ERA. The starting rotation has posted a 2.74 ERA, the top starting ERA in the league, but only over 226 2/3 innings. They’re still struggling to get their starters to go deep into games. The starting rotation hasn’t been pushed exceptionally hard, in part because the bullpen has been extra-reliable, pitching the sixth-most innings and still holding a 2.98 ERA.
Aaron Judge has been the best hitter in the American League while Pete Alonso has arguably been the best in the National League. His 36 RBI are second behind Judge, and his 1.005 OPS is tied for the third-best mark in the league with Shohei Ohtani.
Soto moved past a relatively slow start to the season and is now looking more like the hitter he was in the Bronx. Over his last 16 games, Soto has hit .288 with a 1.029 OPS, four doubles, five home runs, eight RBI, a stolen base and 14 walks.
The lineup plays long, but it’s more than just the top four guys. Scrappy hitters at the bottom of the order like Jeff McNeil, Tyrone Taylor and Luisangel Acuña put pressure on opposing pitchers, who are then forced to contend with Francisco Lindor, Soto and Alonso at the top of the order. Brett Baty has hit three home runs since being called up from Triple-A, and Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo are always threats as well.
But for all of their talented hitters, the Mets have struggled to hit with runners in scoring position. They’re hitting just .224, the sixth-worst mark in baseball.
SCOUTING THE YANKEES
As the Yankees prepare to face Soto for the first time since his defection to the Mets, their offense is in much stronger shape than many predicted it would be without the slugger.
A lot of that has to do with Judge, who has remained an otherworldly threat despite no longer hitting behind Soto. Entering the Subway Series, Judge is slashing a ridiculous .412/.497/.782 with 15 home runs, 41 RBI and a 252 wRC+.
However, the Yankees’ offense has not been a one-man show. Newcomer Paul Goldschmidt, part of the post-Soto decision pivot, is hitting a resurgent .346. Trent Grisham, acquired from San Diego alongside Soto, is having a career year and outperforming his ex-teammate. Ben Rice has been clobbering the ball, and other young Yankees such as Jasson Domínguez, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells have been above league-average hitters.
Altogether, that gave the Yankees baseball’s best offense in terms of homers, runs, OBP, slugging, wRC+ and fWAR as of Thursday morning, an off day.
On the pitching side, Max Fried has been sensational in his first season with the Yankees, leading an injury-ravaged rotation to the tune of a 1.11 ERA over nine starts. The lefty was the Yankees’ first – and biggest – splash after Soto picked the Mets; Fried is scheduled to start Sunday’s Subway Series finale after the Yankees decided to skip over swingman Ryan Yarbrough.
Prior to that, the Mets will face Carlos Rodón in the opener and Clarke Schmidt on Saturday. Rodón, while not the sharpest in his last start, has a 3.29 ERA and owns one of the highest strikeout rates of any starter in baseball.
Schmidt, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back six-inning outings after some nagging spring training injuries delayed his season debut.
