NY Mets: The stakes are high in the Empire State battle

Sep 11, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher James McCann (33) celebrates with pinch hitter Dominic Smith (2) after hitting a two run home run in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher James McCann (33) celebrates with pinch hitter Dominic Smith (2) after hitting a two run home run in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Subway Series is well under way; the New York Mets and New York Yankees both are trotting towards a possible playoff opportunity.  This series holds heavy weight for both boroughs in the big apple.

There’s nothing like September baseball; a month where it’s a fight towards a postseason berth, or a live tryout for next season. New York City is the home to September and October baseball. The New York Yankees took the hike onto the Grand Central Pkwy from River Ave to play the wild card relevant New York Mets in a 3-game pertinent series.

Game 1 of the series was a much-needed Mets win, 10-3 over the Bronx Bombers. Tylor Megill tossing 7 innings, fanning 10 sticks and only allowing 2 runs, taking the win over Jordan Montgomery. This was a huge win for the Mets. The Yankees squeezed game 2 with a 8-7 win over the Mets.

After going 3-9 in the first 14 days of August, the Mets were beyond the border of being written off for 2021 Postseason contention. In the past 20 games, the blue and orange went on an 11-9 run, gaining ground quick, putting neck above water in the National League Wild Card chase. The Yankees, however, have been on a slide.  What does this series really mean? What else does September hold for these clubs?

Where do the New York Mets and New York Yankees currently stand?

The New York Mets currently sit 4.0 games behind the second national league wild card seat holders, the San Diego Padres. The Mets have 19 remaining games on the schedule, after the subway series. Why’s this important? 19 games need to be 19 wins at this point; of these games, there are 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals and 3 against the Philadelphia Phillies, two teams which sit in the 2 seats right above the Mets, separated by between 0.5-1.0 games behind.

The Yankees on the other hand are now tied with the Toronto Blue Jays, for the 2nd American League Wild card spot.  The Yankees grabbed a big win, snapping a 7-game losing streak, dropping 2 of 3 to the Baltimore Orioles and taking a 4-game at-home sweep by the Jays. In their last 16 games, they’ve melted their wild card lead with a disgusting 6-11 record. The Yankees have 20 remaining games, with 6 games against wild card relevant teams, in the Red Sox and Blue Jays; along with another 6 games against teams that stir the pot, in the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.

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So here we have it, 2 teams with great interests in winning, neck-to-neck in the same series, same city, chasing securement in the same postseason possibility. Although neither of these teams have relevance to each other, the wins are a must. The rat-race wild card run will be edgy and uncertain until the final day of the regular season.

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