As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. 2023 Subway Series begins:
The annual clash between New York’s AL and NL teams begins today as the Yankees head to Citi Field to face the Mets. It’s been a difficult season for both teams so far. The Yankees are stuck in third place in the AL East, nine games back of the Rays for the division crown, despite a strong 38-29 record. In the NL, the Mets have sunk to fourth place with a 31-35 record that registers as a massive disappointment for the club that entered 2023 with an MLB-leading $359MM payroll, per RosterResource. What’s more, both teams are currently playing without superstar sluggers, as both Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge have hit the injured list in recent weeks.
The two-game set begins tonight at 6:10pm CT, with Luis Severino taking the mound for the Yankees while the Mets counter with Max Scherzer. The second game of the series features an even more intriguing pitching matchup, as former Astros teammates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the Mets and Yankees, respectively.
2. Gray scratched from today’s start:
Rangers starter Jon Gray has been scratched from today’s start against the Angels with a blister issue, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). The starter for today’s game in lieu of Gray hasn’t yet been announced, though Landry noted that left-hander Cody Bradford, who has made two spot starts for the Rangers previously this season, was spotted in the Rangers’ clubhouse yesterday. Bradford has a 7.20 ERA with eight strikeouts and three walks in 10 innings of work for Texas this season. If Bradford were to start today’s game, an active roster move would need to be made to accommodate him.
Gray has posted an excellent 2.32 ERA in 12 starts this season (albeit with a less-encouraging 4.16 FIP). Gray has been especially dominant over the past month, as the veteran hurler has pitched to a sterling 0.84 ERA across his last six starts. That stretch was highlighted by his most recent start, a complete game in St. Louis where Gray struck out 12 Cardinals and allowed just one run. For now, it seems the decision to skip Gray’s start is being considered precautionary, and the Rangers don’t expect an IL stint to be necessary.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
With just seven weeks to go until MLB’s trade deadline, the paths forward for many teams remain murky, even as some organizations set themselves apart from the pack.. If the events of the season so far have spurred any questions in your mind about your favorite team or the league as a whole, MLBTR’s Steve Adams is holding a live chat with readers at 1pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
This week’s Subway Series is actually the first of two this summer — the second takes place in The Bronx in late July.
NY fandom/hype aside, Balt hosting Toronto & Rangers vs Angels are compelling divisional battles.
cwsOverhaul;
Was watching a game Sunday afternoon. One of the broadcasters was going through the scores. At the end he said: “The late national game is Yankees-Red Sox……what a shock” The other broadcaster laughed.
I miss when they did cross town rivals as it’s own weekend. Os/Nats, cubs/sox, Yankees/Mets etc. I always liked having them all at the same time
No respectable New Yorker even considers the Mets a franchise. There’s the Yankees and their fan base, and then there are people on the fringe of society who are 93.6% more likely to join a fictitious cult
Isn’t there some trash lying around that you can be throwing at people?
What a ridiculous comment. There’s plenty of Mets fans
Yeah, but we’re not necessarily advertising it so far this season. 😉
Mets fans like to think of themselves as a craft beer of baseball fans, “oh yes, the masses like the Yankees but we are more sophisticated” but in reality they are natural light. Garbage fans with bad taste that only like the Mets because they cannot afford a better tasting product.
Steve Cohen can spend all the money he wants but the Mets will always stink of the Mets. They will never be interesting regardless of how much money he throws at them. That why no respectable GM or PBO was willing to even talk to them and why they ended up with Billy Eppler.
While I cannot refute how uniquely terrible and challenging it has been to be a Mets fan my whole life, and I can generally agree with the previous poster’s assertion that a Mets fan is more likely to join a fictitious cult (I don’t know why, it just rings true), I find that many Yankees fans are just people that would otherwise have no self-respect or sense of self-worth if not for their team’s 27 championships. Just a bunch of slobs and goons who think wearing a Yankees jersey classes them up somehow. Or for the more successful of the lot, it’s worn as a status symbol.
All that being said, most fans of both teams are good folk who are raised to be fans of their respective teams. What would the subway series be without some good-natured (or not) insulting and dirt slinging? Let’s Go Mets!
I look forward to seeing how Yankees fans react to your assertion, Hurricane Sandy. I’m sure your characterization of Yankees fans fits some of them. What would you say the percentage is?
Oh I don’t know, let’s go 25 % rich/successful types, 60% Goons/Slobs, 15% normal?
You’d be shocked how many people when asked about the Yankees while wearing a Yankees hat just “like the hat.” Of course most of the comments on this site are by 12 year olds so generalizations of an entire fan base don’t surprise me. It’s funny how many fans of teams who’ve never ever won a CS or WS make fake names just to troll. Cause they know their team hasn’t even smelled victory in your lifetime. At least I’ve seen a trophy raised at Shea. Plenty more than can be said by some of the trolls on here.
Come on now, lots of us saw the Royals raise the trophy in Shea.
That sounds like every fan base.
Really? What planet were you on since that game was played at Citi Field? Would have been a good burn if you didn’t screw it up completely
Solid enough to make you butt hurt about it
No, it was funny. I give you props for the effort but definitely an F on execution
Typical garbage talk from garbage fans
Hopefully the Angels can repeat the effort from last night. That was wild. Barria has pitched really well so I think we have a chance at another needed win tonight.
Yankees aren’t playing as a dominant team so I wouldn’t be surprised that neither team actually wants to win this series. Mets are a trash team but the Yankees are not performing to that high payroll. Yankees management needs to take a note out of the Rays book and get a better team.
Can’t seem to find a comment on this thread that has any value.
… including mine.