The 2025 Subway Series continues this weekend when the New York Mets host the crosstown rival New York Yankees for three games at Citi Field. It is potentially a World Series preview, though neither team has looked the part of a World Series contender the last 3-4 weeks. Long way to go between here and October though.
“It doesn’t matter what’s in the past but what’s ahead of us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday. “… Now we have to get ready for another good team coming to town. The Subway Series, obviously. It’s gonna be electric, and we’ll be ready to go.”
Despite their recent slumps, both the Mets and Yankees are still among the 10 best teams in baseball, though they have both fallen into second place in their divisions. Both teams go into this weekend badly needing a series win. Here are the details for this weekend’s edition of the Subway Series in Queens. All games can be streamed on fubo (try for free).
|
Fri., July 4 |
3: 10 p.m. ET |
RHP Marcus Stroman (1-1, 8.16) vs. RHP Justin Hagenman (0-0, 1.50) |
SNY, YES, MLBN |
fubo |
|
Sat., July 5 |
4: 10 p.m. ET |
LHP Carlos Rodón (9-5, 2.95) vs. RHP Frankie Montas (0-1, 6.00) |
SNY, YES, FS1 |
fubo |
|
Sun., July 6 |
1: 40 p.m. ET |
LHP Max Fried (10-2, 2.13) vs. LHP Brandon Waddell (0-0, 2.55) |
SNY, YES |
fubo (regionally) |
The Mets have six starting pitchers on the injured list (Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, Sean Manaea, Tylor Megill, Christian Scott, Kodai Senga) and are pushing the limits of the pitching depth, hence Hagenman and Waddell getting starts (or bulk assignments) this weekend. Tuesday’s rainout and Wednesday’s doubleheader didn’t help matters for the Mets. Dire times on the mound in Queens.
Here now are four things to know heading into this weekend’s three-game Mets vs. Yankees series at Citi Field, with a prediction thrown in, because why not?
1. The Yankees won their first meeting
These two teams played three games at Yankee Stadium as part of Rivalry Weekend from May 16-18. That marked Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx and he was greeted with whatever the opposite of a warm reception is. The Yankees won that series. Here are the final scores:
- Fri., May 16: Yankees 6, Mets 2 (box score)
- Sat., May 17: Mets 3, Yankees 2 (box score)
- Sun., May 18: Yankees 8, Mets 2 (box score)
Despite that series loss in May, the Mets have won 13 of the last 21 Subway Series games batting back to 2021, including eight of the last 10 Subway Series games at Citi Field. The last time the Yankees won a game in Queens, Max Scherzer started for the Mets, and current San Diego Padres ace Michael King got the save. That was June 13, 2023. Feels like a lifetime ago.
2. Soto has picked it up
When the Mets and Yankees met in May, it was peak “what’s wrong with Juan Soto???” hysteria. Soto signed a record 15-year, $765 million contract over the winter and started the season slowly. Slowly relative to his usual standards, that is. Soto went 1 for 10 against his former team to lower his batting line to .246/.379/.443. A career year for most players. A cause for panic with Soto.
Over the last five weeks or so though, Soto has looked like himself, perhaps even better than ever. The NL’s Player of the Month for June has been arguably the league’s best hitter for the last five weeks:
|
Batting average |
.320 |
25th |
|
On-base percentage |
.473 |
1st |
|
Slugging percentage |
.680 |
3rd |
|
OPS |
1.153 |
1st |
That has raised Soto’s season batting line up to a much more Soto-like .260/.396/.500. He’s also hit 20 home runs and stolen 10 bases. The slow start was just a slow start. Not a reason to worry. New player on a new team, and sometimes it takes guys to settle in. Baseball players are human too, even when look not human at the plate like Soto has lately.
Also, Aaron Judge has snapped out of the slump he had last month. Judge went 2 for 24 with 15 strikeouts in seven games from June 12-18. In 14 games since, Judge is hitting .348/.531/.761 with five home r