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Yanks, Mets battle for NY on Thursday
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 8/16/2017  at  7:15:00 PM
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NEW YORK YANKEES (64-55)

at NEW YORK METS (53-65)

First pitch: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: Yankees -180, Mets +180, Total: 8.0

The Yankees will be hoping to earn a huge victory over the Mets on Thursday.

The Yankees and Mets could not be in more different positions right now, as the Yankees are currently doing everything they can to make it to the postseason and the Mets are simply hoping to play the role of spoiler right now. The Yankees are currently trailing the Red Sox in the AL East, but they also have the best record amongst the teams competing for the wild card spots. But they also are not ready to stop fighting for the division, as this is a very winnable game for the Bronx Bombers and then they have a number of games coming up against the Sox. The Mets, meanwhile, are strictly hoping to do what they can to help the Yankees fall in the AL East standings. The matchup on the hill on Thursday features a nice pair of young starters, as RHP Luis Severino (9-5, 3.32 ERA, 166 K) is on the mound for the Yankees and LHP Steven Matz (2-6, 5.54 ERA, 44 K) will be giving it a go for the Mets. Both are capable of pitching absolute gems for their teams, so don’t be shocked if this one doesn’t have many runs.

Luis Severino was absolutely atrocious in his last trip to the mound, as he allowed eight earned runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work against the Red Sox on Aug. 12. Severino allowed two homers in that game, and he’ll need to make sure he keeps the ball down against the Mets in this one. Fortunately for both he and the Yankees, the righty had been on fire heading into that meeting with Boston. He had allowed one or fewer earned runs in each of his previous five outings, so he can probably chalk his last performance up to an unlucky day. Look for him to get back on track against a weaker Mets lineup in this one. As for the Yankees’ offense, 3B Todd Frazier is somebody to keep an eye on in this one. Frazier is 2-for-9 with two homers and three RBI against Steven Matz in his career, so he should be looking forward to facing the lefty in this one. He has not been performing well since getting traded to the Bronx, but perhaps he can get himself going on Thursday.

The Mets will be hoping for a solid performance from Steven Matz on Thursday, and it’s not hard to imagine him giving them just that. He was good in his last trip to the mound, as he allowed just two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work against the Phillies on Aug. 12. Matz did, however, strike only one batter out in that one, which is not like him. That has been a part of his game that has seemingly disappeared this season. He’ll need to start missing more bats moving forward. On offense, guys like OF Yoenis Cespedes and SS Amed Rosario are the names to watch out for here. Cespedes has remarkable power, and that is a good match against a power-throwing youngster like Severino. It wouldn’t be shocking if he were to take him yard in this one. Rosario, meanwhile, has shown exactly why he is one of the top prospects in baseball lately. He has a good presence at the plate and could have a big day on Thursday.


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