A week ago, the first Subway Series of the year was shaping up to be a snoozefest. Or at least, a potential knockout blow.
The New York Yankees, owners of the American League’s best record, were flying high after yet another series win. Aaron Judge was on one of his heaters. Ben Rice looked like an MVP candidate. A rotation of difference makers delivered quality start after quality start. Even the bottom of the lineup appeared to be heating up from a slow start. Ask someone on the Yanks about their ballclub and their eyes would get wide, a knowing smile would creep across their face.
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The New York Mets, meanwhile, were not in a happy place. Entering play May 8, the Mets were 14-23, tied for dead last in all of baseball. Their lineup was a woeful excuse for itself, an ugly hodgepodge of underperforming youngsters and over-the-hill veterans. Obviously, it didn’t help that multiple injury-prone pieces New York built its lineup around were, well, injured. The stylings of Juan Soto and a much-improved run prevention unit were not nearly enough to overcome the Mets’ offensive woes.
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Things were so dire, the fan base so worked up, that president of baseball operations David Stearns had to publicly reaffirm that no, he did not plan to fire manager Carlos Mendoza. In some ways, the Mets were trusting the process, but in truth, they had no other options.
Oh, what a difference a week makes.
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All of a sudden, the Mets are riding high, invigorated by a rousing home sweep of the Detroit Tigers. Their cross-borough counterparts, on the other hand, have now lost five of their last six and sit two games back of the high-flying Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
These recent events make this weekend an even more enticing proposition. A sweep by the Yankees would get their strong start back on track while simultaneously punting the Mets back into a state of hopelessness. A sweep by the Mets, on the other hand, would serve as a definitive sign of a bounce-back while increasing the agita up in The Bronx.
For the Yankees, given their level of continuity, many of the characters are the same as Subway Series past. It’s a different story for the Mets, who turned over half their roster last winter. As always, the players will define the series, so let’s run through five names sure to dictate the proceedings.
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Juan Soto — Mets outfielder
Remember when Juan Soto was a Yankee for an entire season? The drunk folks in pinstripes certainly do. And even though this weekend’s matchup will be at Citi Field, the Yankee faithful will surely be out in force and volume.
The man himself has had a bizarre start to the season. He starting lava-hot in typical Soto fashion, but hit the IL with a calf strain on April 6. In his absence, the Mets nearly disintegrated. But while the club has been better since his return on April 22, Soto himself has posted a relatively pedestrian .221/.333/.412 batting line in 81 plate appearances. He was pulled early from Wednesday’s game after clanging a foul ball off his ankle, but started and homered Thursday.
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With Bo Bichette still mired in a mega-slump and so many Mets lineup regulars on the IL, the weight will fall, once again, on Soto’s well-paid shoulders. He has, so many times throughout his career, met the moment.
New York’s 25-year-old beanstalk has been the biggest pitching breakout of the season. Through nine starts, Schlittler has a 1.35 ERA in 53 1/3 frames with over a strikeout an inning. Most importantly, he’s filled a massive early-season void for the Yankees, who are still waiting for Gerrit Cole to work his way back and only just got Carlos Rodón off the IL. The team is also monitoring Max Fried after he left Wednesday’s start early with elbow soreness. Schlittler was a revelation last season, capping his rookie campaign off with an unforgettably dominant outing against the Red Sox in the wild-card round. And yet, this guy has somehow gotten even better; there’s a legitimate chance he starts the All-Star Game.
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But because Schlittler debuted after both of 2025’s Subway Series matchups, he still hasn’t toed the slab against the Mets. Schlittler, an über-confident guy and occasional … Schlitt stirrer, will surely feed off the intensity of a road game in Queens. He’s going to be a main character in this rivalry for years to come, meaning his start Friday night could be the start of a memorable era.
Carson Benge — Mets outfielder
This will also be the first Subway Series for Benge, a rookie who made the big league club out of spring training a few months ago. Despite being the club’s consensus top hitting prospect, the 23-year-old started quite slowly after going yard on Opening Day. Through those scuffles, neither Benge nor Mets brass wavered an inch. Benge kept trucking and the club kept rolling the talented youngster out there.
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That call has paid dividends already. Since April 23, the Oklahoma State product has been one of New York’s best hitters, with a .333/.375/.875 line over 64 plate appearances. That’s how it goes for rookies sometimes. Even the most talented dudes need an adjustment period to figure out big league pitching. But when it clicks, it can click big. That’s what seems to have happened with Benge, who was recently moved up to the leadoff spot.
This guy wasn’t even supposed to be here.
Volpe, who served as the Yankee’s everyday shortstop for the last three seasons, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton on May 3 after completing a rehab assignment for an offseason shoulder surgery. But the 25-year-old didn’t even last two weeks as an official minor leaguer as he was recalled earlier this week when his replacement, José Caballero, went on the 10-day IL with a fractured finger.
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The former top prospect and boyhood Yankee fan didn’t make any noise in his first game back, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout Wednesday. But with the Yanks headed to Queens for three high-stakes games, he has a real chance to reorient his season. Mets fans are certainly going to let Volpe hear it; his struggles are their punch lines. But a big weekend against a big rival would provide a huge confidence boost to a player desperately in need of one.
A.J. Ewing — Mets centerfielder
By jove, a spark!
Ewing has provided a much-needed jolt in the three games since making his MLB debut Tuesday. The former fourth-round draft pick isn’t going to singlehandedly turn this Mets season around, though it certainly felt that way at points during the Detroit series. That’s because the 21-year-old Ohioan’s game revolves around characteristics in which the Mets have been seriously lacking.
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He’s a burner, a spark plug, a high-energy catalyst who makes things happen with his legs. Ewing swiped 70 bags in the minors last season and already has one (and a triple) in his short big league stint. With Luis Robert Jr. stuck on the IL with a hazy timetable, Ewing looks primed to be New York’s everyday centerfielder. For the neutral viewer, that’s great news. This kid is electric, a throwback slash-and-dash type who sprays the ball all over the diamond. Ewing has already endeared himself to the Mets faithful with an impactful first series, but could go supersonic with a few key hits against the Yanks.
Ben Rice — Yankees first baseman
This is Aaron Judge’s ninth full campaign in pinstripes. He has been New York’s best offensive player in every single year of that run. But in each season, Judge has had a different top sidekick. There was a Gleyber Torres year, a Gary Sanchez year, a DJ LeMahieu year and, of course, that Juan Soto year. This season, that role is being filled by Rice, whose offensive breakout has been one of the biggest stories in the sport.
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Through 39 games the former Dartmouth star has walloped 13 homers and driven in 29 runs with a league-leading 1.079 OPS. The underlying statistics support the legitimacy of Rice’s offensive explosion. It looks real, very real.
But Rice missed four games last week with a bruised hand, though the issue wasn’t serious enough for an IL stint. In his six starts since hopping back in the lineup, the first baseman has gone just 3-for-24 with just two walks and nine punchouts, easily his worst mini-skid of the season. Rice did go deep in the series opener Monday against Baltimore, but it’s worth keeping an eye on things to see if he’s actually back at full health
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