The Yankees and Mets meet again Saturday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. ET, and this time it's not about legacy or crosstown pride so much as it is about who's playing the better baseball right now. This is Game 2 of a three-game set, and after Friday's series opener, the Yankees have a chance to grab control before the finale. With the calendar reading September 12 and the regular season deep into its final stretch, every game carries a little more weight for a Mets club fighting to salvage something out of a disappointing year and a Yankees team trying to keep its foot on the gas toward October.
New York's two ballclubs enter this one from different places. The Yankees sit at 82-62, a mark built on legitimate two-way strength — they're averaging 4.5 runs a game while allowing just 3.7, a run differential of plus-117 that speaks to a team clicking on both sides of the ball. The Mets, meanwhile, are 68-78, outscored on the season with a minus-40 run differential, the profile of a club that's had more bad nights than good ones. But form is form, and the Mets arrive on a modest heater, having won four of their last five, including a wild 15-14 slugfest over Miami and a 4-2 win over San Francisco sandwiched around a 9-5 loss to the Giants. The Yankees have been streakier — a 6-1 win over Colorado, a 5-3 follow-up, then a split with San Diego that included a 3-4 loss and a 2-3 defeat mixed in with a 5-1 blowout win.
The pitching matchup favors the home club on paper, though not by a wide margin. Gerrit Cole takes the ball for New York carrying a 3.405 ERA, still the Yankees' most trusted arm when they need length and swing-and-miss stuff. Opposing him is Zac Thornton, who checks in with a 3.528 ERA for the Mets — a reasonably even number that suggests this could be a tighter pitchers' duel than the disparity in team records might imply. Neither staff figures to be at full strength, though. The Yankees are without Clarke Schmidt (D60) and Ryan Weathers (D15) from the rotation, and their bullpen has been thinned by Kervin Castro (D60) and Fernando Cruz (D15). The Mets have their own pitching problems, with Reed Garrett (D60), Tylor Megill (D60), and Devin Williams (D15) all unavailable — a significant dent in a relief corps that can ill afford it against a Yankees lineup capable of scoring in bunches.
Offensively, both sides are dealing with notable absences that reshape how each lineup will look Saturday. The Yankees will again be without Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Giancarlo Stanton — a staggering amount of thump missing from the middle of that order. That puts even more scoring responsibility on players like Ben Rice, who's posted a 13.3 season average fantasy point mark but has been inconsistent lately, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., averaging 13.2 on the year. Luis García Jr. has flashed serious upside recently, including a 36.5-point outburst in one of his last three games, while Heliot Ramos matched that with a 35-point showing of his own in that same stretch — production the Yankees will need again with so many of their stars sidelined. Paul Goldschmidt, at 39 years old out of Texas State, remains a steady if unspectacular presence averaging 10.3 points on the season.
The Mets have their own long injury list to navigate, missing Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, and Mark Vientos — essentially the backbone of what was supposed to be a dangerous lineup. That leaves Bo Bichette, averaging 12.8 fantasy points with a recent run that included a 19.5-point game, as the clear focal point. Brett Baty has quietly been productive too, with a 29-point game mixed into his last three, and Carson Benge has been arguably the Mets' most consistent bat lately, posting double-digit fantasy production in each of his last three outings, capped by a 22-point game.
Head-to-head history this season has been a coin flip, with both teams trading wins in May and July, so there's little reason to expect one side has the other's number. But the current form and roster health tilt this one toward the Bronx. Cole gives the Yankees a stabilizing presence on the mound, and even with their star power thinned out, the lineup around García Jr. and Ramos has shown it can produce in flashes. The Mets have the recent win streak, but replacing three key bullpen arms against a patient Yankees order is a tall task.
Expect a competitive game that leans New York's way late, with the Yankees bullpen holding a slim advantage, as the Yankees look to move a step closer to taking the series.
