The Subway Series: Mets at Yankees Preview

Story updated to reflect Thursday Mets and Yankee wins

It's Subway Series time again!

The New York Mets and the New York Yankees begin the first of two series this year on Friday when the Mets make the short travel to Yankee Stadium.  The Yankees return home after playing a four game series at Detroit.

A lot of people are talking New York Mets, and for good reason.  After three straight sweeps, the Mets enter the Subway Series with the best record in baseball, helped by an ongoing 11 game win streak.

The win streak is remarkable considering the growing list of injuries that the Mets have faced.  This includes their capitain, David Wright, Travis d'Arnaud, Jerry Blevins, all who have been injured recently.  Add a suspended reliever in Jenrry Mejia, Zack Wheeler, who was scratched from the lineup prior to opening day as he needs Tommy John surgery, and closer Bobby Parnell, who is set to make his return next month to the list, and you get a Mets team that should otherwise be among the basement dwellers in the NL East.

The success of the Mets through 16 games is the effort of the whole team.  Lucas Duda is hitting the ball well, leading the team with 19 hits.  Juan Lagares has 16 hits, second best on the team, but has made his value more on the field, showing why he was a Gold Glove recipient for his work in center field.  He showcased this on the Wednesday night game against Atlanta when he robbed what would of been an extra base hit in the seventh inning.

The Mets are known for their pitching, and the Yankees will have to face their top two hurlers during the series.  Jacob deGrom was the National League Rookie of the Year, and has followed up that effort by keeping teams scoreless through 18.2 innings since allowing a first inning two-run home run in the opening day game against the Washington Nationals.  Matt Harvey will pitch the middle game of the series, and Jonathon Niese will be on the mound for the Sunday Night game.

Mets fans will be familiar with the Yankees top hitter.  Chris Young was hitting only .205 with the New York Mets last year before he was released and picked up by the Yankees.  He's off to a hot 2015, hitting .357 to lead the Yankees, and would love nothing more than to show Terry Collins and the New York Mets what they missed out on by releasing him.  Brett Gardner is also off to a good start, and Mark Teixeira leads the Yankees with 13 runs batted in.  Plus, Alex Rodriguez is back and wanting to make a statement to Yankee fans and the league.

The Yankees will send out Michael Pineda to start the series.  He surrendered three runs in the last start, but got the help from Yankee bats to earn the win over Tampa Bay.  On Saturday, C.C. Sabathia will oppose Matt Harvey.  Sabathia is off to a rough start, losing all three starts he has made to start the 2015 season.  His latest loss was one where the Yankee offense wasn't clicking, taking the loss despite only giving up two runs in eight innings pitched.  Nathan Eovaldi will pitch the series finale on Sunday Night.

The Yankees started rough, but have picked things up by winning 6 of their last 7 entering the Thursday series finale at Detroit.  They will be a formidable foe for the Mets.

Don't forget, as an affiliate of the New York Mets Radio Network, we have coverage of all three games this weekend live from Yankee Stadium.  Coverage begins 40 minutes before the first pitch.

And just remember, this is only the first of two series between the two teams.  They will meet again at Citi Field for a three game tilt in September.  And how fantastic would that be if both teams are relevant on the quest for October.

New York Mets at New York Yankees
Fri 4/24 - First Pitch: 7:05PM.  Pregame Coverage: 6:25PM
TV Coverage: WRGB CBS 6 (Mets); YES (Yankees)

Sat 4/25 - First Pitch: 4:05PM.  Pregame Coverage: 3:25PM
TV Coverage: WCWN CW 15 (Yankees); SNY (Mets); FOX Sports 1 (National)

Sun 4/26 - First Pitch: 8:05PM.  Pregame Coverage: 7:25PM
TV Coverage: ESPN (National Exclusivity)

Midday Recap - Harvey ND'd again, Giants fall flat

Matt Harvey gets another no decision. The Giants falter against the Colts. And the Bills may have figured out their week 1 starter. Only 1 problem.

But the big story is the bean heard around the world in Beantown last night.

Ryan Dempster took exception to Alex Rodriguez playing under appeal of his suspension and in the 2nd inning, delivered his first offering to A-Rod way inside, nearly plunking the 3rd baseman. The 2nd and 3rd pitches to A-Rod also were inside, but not as close. But the 4th pitch came inside and plunked A-Rod below the elbow.

A-Rod was displeased, but more displeased was Skipper Joe Girardi about Dempster only getting a warning instead of an ejection on what he saw was a blatant bean.  A fired up Girardi caused the benches to clear, fueling up a rivalry that hasn't been much to talk about otherwise this year.

After the plunked Rod, all eyes were on C.C. Sabathia to see if he would retaliate and hit a batter, but through 6 1/3rd innings, he did not.

The Yankees would go on to win the game 9-6 as Sabathia earned his 11th win of the season.  Ryan Dempster was charged with his 9th loss of the year.

Boston Pride: Fans at Fenway Park did give an ovation to Mariano Rivera as he walked out onto the field in the middle of the 9th inning, before earning his 36th save of the season.

AGAIN
Matt Harvey remains at 9-4 for the year after a no-decision start on Sunday against the San Diego Padres.

Things were going well for Harvey until the 5th inning, when he started the inning by plunking Logan Forsythe on the first pitch, and then surrendered a single by Nick Hundley.  Both would be brought home to tie the score at 2-2.

Then in the 6th inning, a single to Jedd Gyorko started the inning.  He would be stranded, however, after Logan Forsythe grounded out.

That would be all for Harvey, as after a two-out double by Omar Quintanilla, Terry Collins decided to pinch-hit for the pitcher, sending Andrew Brown to the plate.  That move proved to be good when Brown doubled home Quintanilla for the go-ahead run, putting Harvey back in line for the win.

But that wouldn't last, as Gonzalez Germen would get into trouble, surrendering a walk to Yonder Alonso.  Chase Headley doubled to right, but the strong arm of Marlon Byrd kept Alonso at 3rd until Chris Denorfia singled him home.

After a scoreless top 9th, and Pedro Feliciano on the mound for the Mets, Will Venable took a 1-2 slider deep for the Mets 12th walk-off loss of the year, as the Padres won the back 2 games to split the four game series.

Fly like a Byrd: Marlon Byrd came within inches of extending the Mets lead in the 8th inning when he crushed a ball to deep center.  However, a jumping grab by game-winner Will Venable at the wall brought the 2nd out of the inning.  It was a close call, as the downward trajectory of the ball would possibly have clipped the top of the wall.

Infield Singles: The Mets surrendered three infield singles during the game.  Two of those three brought men home, as Venable's soft grounder to Justin Turner in the 5th allowed Forsythe to score and Nick Hundley to move over to 3rd, where he would be brought home with the next batter's sac-fly.  Then in the 8th, Denorfia's single to Quintanilla brought home Alonso to tie the game once again.

Walk it Off: The Mets are now 31-34 on the road, with 12 of those losses of the walk-off variety. The 12 walk-off losses this season ties them for the most in the majors with the Miami Marlins.

Detour: The Mets have a detour on their way home from the west coast as they play a make-up game against the Minnesota Twins. There will be friendlier weather for the Mets this time at Target Field as the high is forecasted to reach 90, a considerable difference from the snowy conditions that brought about the postponement back in April.  Dillon Gee will start for the Mets, and Kyle Gibson gets the nod for the Twins. Pregame Coverage: 1:30PM on 1230 FOX Sports Radio

GIANT FAIL
The Giants lead, but cannot stay ahead as the New York Giants lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.

FOX Sports - Image Source

The Giants took the lead on a Josh Brown 25 yard field goal.  But four minutes was all it took for the Colts to seize control of the lead with Andrew Luck's pass to Reggie Wayne for the 28 yard touchdown reception.  Adam Vinatieri showed he has kicking power still at the end of the first quarter, as he booted a 52 yard field goal for the 10-3 Indy lead.

In the 2nd quarter, the Colts got a 18 yard touchdown reception as Luck and T.Y. Hilton combine efforts.  But two Josh Brown field goals would move the Giants back within a possession at the end of the half.

Both teams would trade a field goal in the 2nd half, and the Giants would go down 20-12.

Sacked Pack: Eli Manning went 8-for-17 for 91 yards, including a pick as he obtained a 39.1 QB rating in the game.  The other two on the Giants depth chart weren't much better - David Carr's 7/11 was better, but 3 sacks helped shut down drives fast.  Ryan Nassib's 2 sacks didn't help either, combined with his 2/6 passing.

Mellow Yellow: So if through most of the stats, the Giants were equal to the Colts, how did they lose the game?  Negative yardage could be a reason.  44 yards lost to sacks and the 10 yellow flags that accounted for 96 penalty yards did not help the G-men.

SIDELINED
After looking nearly unstoppable in the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, it appeared as if the 1st round draft pick was going to be named the Buffalo Bills starter for the 1st regular season matchup against the New England Patriots.

After all, EJ Manuel went 10/12 in the 3rd quarter, passing for 92 yards as his arm helped lift the Buffalo Bills to victory over the Minnesota Vikings, 20-16.

However, Saturday, it was learned that EJ Manuel will be sidelined for the remainder of the preseason, there is some swelling going on with his knee that needs to be looked at, and that Kevin Kolb will be getting the start in the 3rd preseason game against the Washington Redskins [4:30PM, 1410 CBS Sports Radio WENU].

At this time, Manuel should be back with the Bills in time for the regular season.

HIGH TIME
Kids take to the field for the first time today as high school football practices begin across New York State.  Some schools, especially downstate, decided to make this a special occasion by opening practice at Midnight.

Locally, we'll be keeping an eye on how all our local teams are doing and will provide reports as the high school football season draws closer.

Our first game of the year will take place on Saturday, September 7th as the Troy Flying Horses take on the Queensbury Spartans in a Class A match.  Broadcast will be on 1230 FOX Sports Radio starting at 1:15PM.

A full listing of our scheduled broadcasts can be found here.

Midday Recap: MLB Squeezes Juiced Up Players

Well, by now you already know what the big story today is.

The hammer comes down as 13 players are suspended in the Major League Baseball Biogenesis investigation.  Unsurprising, Alex Rodriguez gets the stiffest penalty, suspended through the end of the 2014 season, which he is appealing.

The appeal allows A-Rod to continue playing for the Yankees during the appeals process, which is expected to last for the remainder of the 2013 season.  Because of that, the Yankee 3rd baseman was in the lineup, batting clean-up as the Yankees visited the Chicago White Sox.

Greeted by a roar of boos from the home crowd, A-Rod went 1 for 4, including a strikeout, as Andy Pettitte allowed 7 runs on 11 hits in the Yankees 8-1 loss.

Associated Press

The other 12 suspended for 50 games include Jordany Valdespin, whose animated personality frustrated Mets players and management, especially earlier this season when he got into an argument when being told he was going to be sent down to Triple-A Las Vegas.  Cesar Puello, who is on the Mets 40-man roster and was batting .328 with the Double-A team in Binghamton, also received a 50 game suspension.

Francisco Cervelli of the Yankees also took a 50 game suspension.  Cervelli was batting .269 with three home runs in his 17 games as catcher.

The suspensions make up the largest quantity of off-field suspensions since Major League Baseball handed its suspensions in the 1919 World Series fix attempt.

But the Biogenesis suspensions isn't the only news from yesterday.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are closer to history with their 15th road win in a row.  Adam Wainwright gave up two hits in his first three innings, but found himself in trouble in the 4th inning when he walked Adrian Gonzalez, surrendered a double to Yasiel Puig, and then gave up a single to Andre Ethier that brought Gonzalez home.  An A.J. Ellis ground out yielded the inning's first out, but also a run as Puig came home on the force play.

Pitcher Zack Greinke contributed to his own cause with a single in the 7th inning to score Nick Punto.  It was important that he did, as the Cardinals would get one back in the bottom half of the inning as Adron Cambers scores on a Allen Craig ground out to get back within 1.

The Cardinals gained one more base runner in the 8th when David Freese was hit by a pitch to lead off, but he was taken out as Tony Cruz hit into the inning-ending double play, and the Dodgers would go on to win 3-2.

Zack Greinke's 100th win comes as the Dodgers build a 6 game cushion over Arizona for the top spot in the National League West, and helps extend the Dodgers road win streak to 15.  The 15 road wins ties the Dodgers for 3rd all-time, two back of the all-time record held by both the 1916 New York Giants and the 1984 Detroit Tigers.

And finally a belated congratulations to the winning connections of Cross Traffic, winner of Saturday's Whitney Invitational.  John Velazquez teamed up with trainer Todd Pletcher to ride the lightly-raced horse, who heading into the race had only 4 starts.  But now, at 5 starts, the 4 year old horse will have a spot reserved for him in this year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

Don't Forget: The Buffalo Bills start their 2013 Preseason as they travel to Indianapolis to face Andrew Luck and the Colts this Sunday.  Kickoff is at 1:30PM live on 1410 CBS Sports Radio.

Midday Recap: Arrest Made, Bryz is Gone, Rough Wheels and A-Rod Tension.

The Philadelphia Flyers terminate the services of Ilya Bryzgalov.  Zack Wheeler tries his off-speed stuff and gets rocked for four in Chicago.  And an A-Rod tweet could be fueling more discomfort between the all-star 3rd baseman and the team he plays for.

George Rizer for the Boston Globe

But the big story this morning is the arrest of New England Patriots Aaron Hernandez.  It is unknown to what charges are filed against Hernandez at this time, but the tight end was seen being hauled away in a police car in cuffs at 9AM this morning in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

He is being arraigned at the North Attleboro police station, and will be appearing at the Attleboro District Court, where the charges filed will be disclosed to Hernandez and the media in the week-long investigation of a murder of a Boston semi-pro football player.

In response to the arrest, the New England Patriots announce they are releasing Hernandez.

Yahoo!

TAKE ME TO THE RIVERS
The Los Angeles Clippers will formally announced the hiring of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers today.  The former Celtics coach helped lead the team to a NBA Championship in 2008 and will look towards the continued growth of Clippers basketball.

The Clippers finished 4th in the Western Conference last year after several years of obscurity.  They did not advance past the first round, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in 6 games.

In exchange of the contract buyout, the Clippers will provide the Boston Celtics with a 1st Round draft pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.  No replacement for Rivers has been named for the Boston Celtics.

BRYZ-GONE-LOV

Uncredited Photo | Wikipedia

The Philadelphia Flyers are buying out the contract of Ilya Bryzgalov.  The Russian Goaltender will earn $1.65 million dollars per year for the next 14 years as part of the buyout that shortens his nine year contract with the Flyers by seven years.

Bryzgalov played 40 out of the 48 games for the Flyers this year, allowing a GAA of 2.79 in that span.  Bryzgalov was known for quirky antics during media conferences and was a part of the goalie conglomeration in Philadelphia that brought about a goalie conundrum locally with the Adirondack Phantoms.

The Flyers have not outlined their goalie future, though rumors are circling about the possible attempt to go after Ray Emery of the Chicago Blackhawks, who will become a Free Agent on July 5th.

WHEELS FALL OFF

Charles Rex Arbogas | AP

Zack Wheeler can thank the Chicago White Sox infield that he doesn't have a "1" in his loss column after yesterday's Mets 5-4 loss.  Daniel Murphy popped up just feet from home plate for what should have been the final out, except some miscommunication with one sliding 2nd baseman allowed the ball to drop onto the ground untouched, allowing David Wright to score the tying run that got Wheeler off the hook for the loss.

However, the good fortunes for the Mets ran out in the bottom of the 9th when LaTroy Hawkins was unable to field a grounder, allowing the Chicago White Sox to set up Alexi Ramirez game-winning single down the left field line.

Zack Wheeler admittedly told media that he felt his performance was "bad".  He allowed 4 hits, 4 runs, all earned, in his 5 1/3rd innings of work.  He walked 3 and only got one batter to strike out.  Chris Sale struck out 13 in his 8 innings of work, allowing three runs, two of them coming in the 1st inning.  His 13 punch-outs are a season high for Sale, getting 12 against the Los Angeles Angels back on May 17th.

HOT ROD

Uncredited | Wikipedia

Alex Rodriguez is eager to get back on the diamond.  So eager, he used his 9th tweet on Twitter to announce his personal doctor clearing him for play.  So you'd think the Yankees would be excited to get Rodriguez closer to being able to play, fighting to stay in the chase for the AL East with the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.

Apparently not.

In what may be more bad blood between the star 3rd Baseman and the Yankee brass, Brian Cashman fired back and told ESPN reporters that he would prefer that A-Rod would "shut the ---- up" and would further note that if when the Yankees want to make an announcement, they will do so themselves.

Meanwhile on the field, the Yankees were the beneficiary of a walk-off, as Ichiro Suzuki propelled the Yankees to a 4-3 victory with his two-out home run off Tanner Scheppers.


COACH SWAP
The Vancouver Canucks introduced John Tortorella to the media on Tuesday.  The former New York Rangers head coach will take over for the Canucks, who were swept by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.

This comes 4 days after Alain Vigneault was announced as the new Rangers head coach.  Vigneault was released by the Canucks following that 1st round sweep.