Yankees at Mets
Although Aaron Judge set a record that is cause for no celebration, the 25-year-old rookie remains the talk of the town in the Big Apple for what he does when he actually makes contact with the ball. With two homers in the first three games of the Subway Series, Judge looks to continue flexing his muscles in the finale on Thursday as the visiting New York Yankees vie for a sweep of the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Judge launched his American League-best 37th homer in the fourth inning of Wednesday's 5-3 win before writing his name into the record books in the ninth with a strikeout, marking the 33rd consecutive game in one season that he's fanned at the plate to set a record for position players. The Yankees have had their way with the cross-town Mets of late, winning 11 of the last 15 encounters to maintain their presence on the back page of the tabloids. Manager Joe Girardi's club is more interested in chasing down another rival as it resides 4 1/2 games behind East-leading Boston, while the Mets merely are chasing their tails at this point with losses in nine of their last 13 contests. Juan Lagares had a single and a double on Wednesday and boasts four hits in the series as he works out the kinks following a near-two-month absence due to a fractured thumb.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (Yankees), WPIX (Mets)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (9-5, 3.32 ERA) vs. Mets LH Steven Matz (2-6, 5.54)
Severino saw his four-start winning streak and six-game unbeaten run come to an end in horrific fashion Saturday, allowing a career-worst 10 runs (eight earned) in 4 1/3 innings of a 10-5 loss to Boston. "He wasn’t executing his pitches. He made some mistakes," Girardi told reporters of the 23-year-old Dominican. "... He's been so good and executing so well, and we haven't seen that for a while. But it just shows that he's human." Severino dominated the Mets in an encounter last season, permitting one run on one hit while striking out five in 4 1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Matz fell to 0-5 with a gaudy 9.51 ERA in his last seven starts despite recording a strong outing in a 3-1 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday. The 26-year-old yielded two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings versus the Phillies, a significantly better performance than his previous six in which he permitted 29 runs and surrendered six homers. "Much, much, better," manager Terry Collins said of Matz’s most-recent trip to the mound. "Secondary stuff was much better, spin on his breaking ball was better. He's worked hard on it and I thought he pitched well."
WALK-OFFS
1. The Yankees can secure the third season sweep in the Subway Series on Thursday, as they used the brooms in a six-game set in 2003 while the Mets swept a four-game series in 2013.
2. Mets LF Yoenis Cespedes has scored a run in five of his last six contests.
3. Judge can match pitcher Vida Blue (34) and move within one of hurler Bill Stoneman (35) for the most consecutive games with a strikeout should he do so on Thursday.