NEW YORK, NY – The baseball season is a long one full of ups and downs. Just over a month ago the Yankees were three games over .500 with a 46-43 record. They were in third place in the AL East, 8 games back of the Boston Red Sox. The Mets were seven games over .500 and had a 3.5 game lead over the Phillies in the NL East.
Today the Yankees find themselves 1 1/2 games ahead of the Sox and five games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the division. They’re 18 games over .500 and are currently holding onto the top Wild Card slot. Going into last night’s late game in Los Angeles, the Mets were playing .500 ball and had slipped into third place, 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves. They dipped back under .500 after losing 4-1. The Yankees have made their push on the heels of a busy trade deadline day. They added lefty bats Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo to help balance out a very unbalanced lineup. The team is also getting healthier with players coming back from injury and COVID. The Yanks have now won seven straight since losing in a corn field last Thursday. They’ve won 8 of their last 10 games and now lead the Oakland A’s and the Sox for the first Wild Card.
The Bombers have had a good mix of solid starting pitching and a reliable bullpen. They’ve also added dimensions to their offense with the lefty bats and the ability to play some small ball with Bronx native Andrew Velazquez and Jonathan Davis. They’re not sitting around waiting for a 3-run home run anymore. They’ve been able to scratch out runs and scratch out wins, which is what they desperately needed to get what seemed like a lost season back on the rails. Gerrit Cole is back at the top of the rotation after a stint on the COVID list and the Yanks are looking to have a big September push towards the playoffs.
The Mets have been let down immensely by their bullpen. They’ve blown countless leads and cannot seem to put any team away. With Jacob deGrom on the shelf with elbow issues, the Mets need to take advantage of every lead they get. But the overworked bullpen can’t hold a lead. Jeurys Familia and Edwin Diaz were money in the bank earlier this season but have struggled of late. Miguel Castro and Trevor May have been giving up a lot of long-balls of late, blowing Mets leads in the process. The Amazin’s led the division for three months but have dropped precipitously since the All-Star break. They’re now a handful of games back in both the division and the Wild Card. With no deGrom return in site, the Mets will need their beleaguered bullpen to hold things together down the stretch if they are to have any chance at making the playoffs.
Speaking of beleaguered, come back tomorrow for Short Matt, who didn’t get on his flight today, rolling the dice with a Buddy Diaz Pass.
