The second game of the highly anticipated Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees gets underway on Saturday at Citi Field. Below, I break down my prediction and pick.
Frankie Montas is scheduled to pitch for the Mets, and Carlos Rodon will take the mound for the Yankees.
Mets vs. Yankees prediction, preview
Frankie Montas is making his third start for the Mets this season. Montas spent the early part of the season on the IL and doing rehab in the minor leagues. It has been a tale of two very different starts for Montas so far this season. In his first start, at Citi Field against the Braves, Montas threw five shutout innings. In his second start, on the road against the Pirates, Montas gave up six runs in four innings. This is indicative of Montas’ whole career in two ways. First, Montas has always been an up-and-down pitcher. He will throw a lot of strikeouts and is capable of domination or a total blow-up. Secondly, Montas has been a better pitcher at home throughout his career, no matter where he has called home. He has a 3.62 home ERA compared to a 4.65 road ERA in his career. He will try to get back to that good home form against the Yankees today.
Carlos Rodon is having a solid season for the Yankees. He has a 2.95 ERA this season and is striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings. He has still been solid recently, but he has been a bit shakier over his last few starts. In his last five appearances, he has a 4.33 ERA and his strikeout numbers have dropped as well. He is striking out just 8.3 batters per nine innings over this five-game stretch. He did have a solid start against the Mets earlier this season, giving up one earned run in five innings. He will hope to repeat that performance at Citi Field today.
Mets vs. Yankees pick, best bet
The Mets and Yankees had a thriller yesterday, with the Mets winning the game on a seventh-inning Jeff McNeil home run. It should be a great game again on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field. In yesterday’s game, Aaron Judge hit a home run, and the Mets’ big batters rose to the occasion as well. It should be more of the same in today’s game. Juan Soto has been walked in four of his six career at-bats against Carlos Rodon. He has also been walked more than any batter in baseball this season. That is why I am including Soto to be walked in my same-game parlay for this game.
In addition to Soto being walked, I am including Aaron Judge to have a hit in my best bet. Judge is batting .365 this season, the best batting average of any player in baseball. After hitting a home run yesterday, he should keep the momentum rolling and get at least a base hit in this game. The final leg of my same-game parlay is Frankie Montas to have five or more strikeouts. Montas has struck out five batters in each of his first two starts with the Mets and he has always been a better pitcher at home in his career.
