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It’s rivalry week in baseball, and I can’t say I fully understand what it looks like for some of these teams. For example, the Toronto Blue Jays play the Detroit Tigers. Is it just because they are nearby? Or is it because Canada is too nice to have a real rival so they just assigned them the Tigers?
Who knows. Either way, we have an all New York matchup and I think we’ll get a good price on either team today.
Carlos Rodón of the New York Yankees reacts after the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 19, 2025. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The New York Yankees are among the best teams in baseball right now, and there isn’t much reason to believe that will change over the course of the year. For the season, they have a record of 28-17, but they have some problems on the road as they are only 14-11 away from home.
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If the Yankees continue this pace, however, they project to become a 100-win club. While that doesn’t guarantee anything, it should place them as a likely host for the majority of the postseason.
I’m sure there will be ups and downs along the way, but so far it’s been smooth sailing and they seem to be getting stronger with guys like today’s starters coming back to the club. Carlos Rodon will take the mound today and looks to improve on his shaky first outing. Against the Brewers in his last start, he went 4.1 innings, allowed two hits, three earned runs and five walks.
The walks are the biggest concern for me, but maybe he was just getting his mechanics down. Mets hitters haven’t had much success against Rodon, hitting just .215 over 65 at-bats.
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon pitches during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game One of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium in the 2024 MLB playoffs. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it should be a big year for the New York Mets. As an objective observer, I will at least give them credit for trying. There are many big league clubs that do not make any effort.
The problem is that their throwing money at players doesn’t seem to translate like it does for e.g. Dodgers. The team is 18-26 for the season, with exactly half of their wins and losses coming at home. Their hitting is rough, with just a .225 batting average, and they are in the bottom quarter of the league in runs scored.
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Their pitching has been reliable, but they just suffered an injury to one of their starters. What’s crazy, to me, is outside of Freddy Peralta, the Mets’ pitching doesn’t have names you’d really recognize. However, they come for good excursions. Beating just doesn’t get it done.
Saturday will be a bullpen game for the club, with Huascar Brazoban taking the mound to open it. The Mets have one of the better bullpens in the league, but I’m not rushing to the window to back them up.
Juan Soto of the New York Mets reacts after hitting an RBI single during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Citi Field in New York City on March 26, 2026. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Saturday has the chance to be an ugly one for the Mets. Bullpen games can be great and have become more and more popular over the years. I think this game probably goes under the 8.5 runs posted because the Mets can play matchups somewhat. I also think Rodon is talented and the Yankees have a good bullpen as well.
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I don’t feel overwhelmingly confident in either game, so I’ll take a unit and split it on the Yankees winning the game. And the other half of a unit will be on the underside. The Yankees are a better club with more consistent hitting and I think the pitching should have the advantage overall.
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