Yankees at Mets
The New York Yankees always take delight in defeating their crosstown rivals, but kicking the New York Mets when they're down is an added bonus. The Yankees attempt to continue sending their opponents in a downward spiral and complete a sweep of the Subway Series when they visit the Mets for the finale of the three-game set on Sunday.
The Yankees pulled out an impressive victory Saturday, overcoming an early three-run deficit to edge the Mets 4-3 for their fourth straight win and ninth in 10 contests. The club used the long ball to battle back, hitting three homers to account for its runs - including a tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning by Aaron Judge, who was in the lineup after X-rays on his sore left thumb came back negative. The Mets managed six hits on Saturday - and only three after a three-run first inning that featured homers by former Yankee Todd Frazier and Asdrubal Cabrera. The team has lost eight consecutive contests - including all seven this month, scoring fewer than two runs in six of the setbacks.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (9-1, 2.20 ERA) vs. Mets RH Seth Lugo (1-1, 2.04)
Severino won his seventh consecutive decision on Monday after allowing two runs - one earned - and four hits while registering 10 strikeouts over eight innings at Detroit. The 24-year-old Dominican has made 10 starts since suffering his lone loss of the season at Boston on April 10, yielding fewer than three runs eight times in that span and three in each of the other two. Severino has made one start and one relief appearance against the Mets in his career, recording 14 strikeouts while giving up two unearned runs and five hits over 10 2/3 innings en route to a pair of victories.
Lugo will make his second start of the season after the Mets announced on Friday that Noah Syndergaard would be unable to pitch due to swelling in his injured right index finger. The 28-year-old Lugo worked four scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on May 31 in his first turn of 2018, allowing three hits while striking out three batters. Lugo made his only career appearance against the Yankees in relief on Aug. 1, 2016, when he took the loss after giving up one run on one hit and one walk in one frame.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees 3B Miguel Andujar belted a two-run shot on Saturday, giving him three homers and 10 RBIs in seven games this month.
2. Mets OF Yoenis Cespedes (hip) played the second game of his rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton on Saturday, going 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles.
3. The Yankees placed RHP Masahiro Tanaka (hamstrings), who is expected to miss about a month, on the 10-day disabled list and recalled 2B Ronald Torreyes from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.