Game 1: 7/3/21, 1:10 PM (Mets win 8-3)
The Yankees would continue their stretch of mediocrity as they dropped game 1 of the Subway Series. Starter Jordan Montgomery, came off very strong, but unfortunately faltered in the 5th inning. His line of 4.1 innings of 3 run ball isn’t exactly what’s expected from him. Yanks turned to the bullpen who were great, besides Justin Wilson. Wilson has been flat out awful and has pitched like the worst reliever in baseball all season, why does Aaron Boone continue to pitch him he needs to get sent to single A or even just cut him. Wilson didn’t record an out but gave up 5 runs in the 6th, he just sucks. The Mets simply used small ball to score 5 runs off Wilson, a couple walks, a few singles, and a double and all of a sudden it went from 3-0 Mets to 8-0 Mets in a hurry. Mets starter Taijuan Walker was great, he had a no hitter through 4 innings but surrendered a solo shot from Aaron Judge in the 5th, followed by a 2-run single by Gio Urshela. Walker really labored through 5.2 innings as he tossed 106 pitches, he was great but the Yanks really got his pitch count up. The Bronx Bombers had great at bats all night long but could only muster 3 hits and 3 runs. Michael King would come in to pitch in the 5th and throw 4 scoreless innings striking out 9, he was electric. Montgomery would get the loss for the Yanks while Walker would get the win.
Game 2: 7/4/21, 2:05 PM (Mets win 10-5) (Game 1 of a doubleheader)
Pathetic? Hilarious? Embarrassing? There is so many words to describe how awful of a loss this was. The Yankees completely fell apart in the 7th inning after going into the final frame with a 5-4 lead. Gerrit Cole was once again very underwhelming giving up 3 runs in 3.1 innings, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize him yet as he has been great all year. I don’t think having 2 bad starts out of 16 total starts is something to get criticized over. You definitely hate to see him having his 2 worst starts coming against Boston and The Mets, 2 rivals. Yanks initially fell behind in the 1st as Dom Smith started it off with a solo shot making it 1-0 Mets. The Bronx Bombers would answer immediately in the following inning, plating 3 runs, a 2-run double by Kyle Higashioka and a sac fly by newly acquired Tim LoCastro. The 4th Yankee run came off the bat Giancarlo Stanton, as he hit into a double play scoring 1. The Mets would tie the game at 4 as Cole imploded in the 4th inning, a couple walks and soft struck singles off Cole would tie the game. Jonathan Loaisiga would come in relief of Cole and throw 2.1 scoreless innings. Yanks would score their 5th run on a wild pitch by Mets starter Marcus Stroman, who wasn’t great by any means, but got the job done. The Yankees would go into the 7th with a 5-4 lead, Aroldis Chapman would come in for the save opportunity. Remember when Chapman had a 0.00 ERA until the beginning of June? Well the tables have surely turned on him. He had his 2nd straight AWFUL performance, as he surrendered a game tying solo shot off lead off hitter Pete Alonso, he proceeded to hit a batter, and walk the next batter. Manager Boone pulled him (which he should’ve done much earlier), for Lucas Luetge, who was just as awful as Chapman. Lucas would give up a single to Kevin Pillar that would load the bases with still nobody out, pitch hitter Jose Peraza would hit what was thought to be a go ahead grand slam but after review it was overturned to a 2-run double after fan inference making it a 7-5 Mets lead, Brandon Nimmo would then hit a 2-run single to make it 9-5. Francisco Lindor would put the icing on the cake with an RBI single of his own to make it 10-5. Mets would plate 6 total runs in the 7th inning, 3 off Chapman and 3 off Luetge. Chapman went from having a 0.00 ERA to a 4.77 ERA in a matter of 3 weeks. Truly just shocking. Chapman would get the well deserving loss and Juerys Familia would get the win. Seth Lugo came in and shut the door.
Game 3: 7/4/21, 7:10 PM (Yankees win 4-2) (game 2 of a doubleheader)
Yay? I guess. Yankees salvage game 3 of the series due to excellent pitching from starter Nestor Cortes and Chad Green. Cortes pitched excellent, although he didn’t go too deep into the game as he isn’t really a starting pitcher, hopefully he gets more opportunities to start games as an “opener”. He probably should’ve stayed in the game longer but he did more then enough. His final line was 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 run and 4 strikeouts. Yanks would get on the board early with a 3-run opposite field blast by Urshela on a pitch that was recorded almost 6 feet above the ground, a very high fastball. Darren O’ Day would relief Cortes in the 4th and serve up a 2-run shot via Alonso (again) making it a slim 3-2 Yankee lead. Chad Green was the star in this one, tossing 3 perfect innings. His line: 3 innings, 0 H, 0 R, 5 strikeouts. Green also pitched the Yankees 2nd immaculate inning of the season (9 pitches, 9 strikes, 3 strikeouts). Chad was simply phenomenal and untouchable, he’s becoming the Yanks most reliable bullpen arm in a hurry. Mets starter Cory Oswalt wasn’t bad but gave up the big blast to Urshela. This was a much needed win for the Yanks. Chad Green picked up the win and Oswalt got the loss for the Mets.
My thoughts:
Yankees easily should’ve taken 2/3 in this series. It’s so frustrating because of how much talent this team has, there is no excuse to being barely over .500. I will never stop believing in this team as they have a World Series caliber roster. It’s surely concerning to see Chapman pitch this poorly over the last 2 weeks, he usually has his hiccups in late June/early July because the weather starts to really heat up, but he’s never pitched this poorly. It’s something to watch if Boone loses his trust in Chapman. Boone also needs to be fired because he’s poorly managed a lot of these bad losses, it seems like he pitches favorites and doesn’t trust some guys that deserve to be trusted, Chad Green for example. I think Boone is horrible mad needs to go whether it’s now or after the season. Big west coast trip coming up before the All Star break.
What’s next?
The New York Mets stay in the area as they welcome in the scorching hot Milwaukee Brewers (winners of 10 of the last 11 games) to town for a 3 game set in Queens. The Yankees get a travel day, as they go across the country for their west coast trip to Seattle to take on the Seattle Mariners in a 3 game series. We’re about to see what this team is made of. Need to go at least 4-2 on this 6 game to feel good about themselves heading into the break. Jameson Tallion gets the ball game 1 against former Yankee prospect Justus Sheffield.
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