David Lennon: For Mets, this Subway Series means more in terms of getting back on right track
Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes reacts during the third inning against the Yankees at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The most discussed name before Friday night’s Subway Series opener was someone who wasn’t scheduled to pitch this weekend.
And hurt.
Incredibly, the injured player wasn’t a member of the Mets, either.
No, that would be Max Fried, who was diagnosed with what the Yankees described as a bone bruise inside his $218 million left elbow, a serious-sounding affliction that he and the team characterized as relatively positive.
Regardless of which borough you’re from, the goal of the Subway Series is always to manage expectations. Never mind that the Yankees losing to the Mets, at any point of the schedule, be it May or October, is a catastrophe among Bronx loyalists (even if it is shrugged off by the players themselves).
In reality, the stakes for Aaron Boone & Co. this weekend are fairly low, other than trying to show that the 1-5 road skid they brought into Friday was merely a blip en route to a 100-win season.
Losing Fried for a prolonged period really shouldn’t do much to dent that goal, given the Yankees’ rotation depth and the imminent return of Gerrit Cole, who is expected to make two more rehab starts before pitching for them again.
“It kind of is what it is right now,” Boone said of Fried’s prognosis. “I think in some ways, it’s good news in that the ligament is in good shape. Just a matter of how the timeline is going to shake out. But I think long term, I feel like we’re in an OK spot.”
Compared to their crosstown rivals, the Yankees are doing significantly better than OK. They entered Friday 10 games over .500 (27-17) and only two games behind the surprising AL East-leading Rays. Being down a starting shortstop in Jose Caballero isn’t great, but he’ll be back within the next week, and maybe they’ll squeeze something from Anthony Volpe playing with a chip on his shoulder. As for the missing Giancarlo Stanton, no one sweats his absence until it’s time to ramp up for October.
The Mets, who entered Friday seven games under .500 (18-25) after a 7-16 start, don’t have the luxury of such long-range planning. Their must-win mindset — usually the Subway Series domain of the Yankees — has been in effect since last month’s 12-game losing streak sabotaged their season.
They’ve already experienced one Fried-level injury in Francisco Lindor’s severe calf strain, which is anticipated to cost him at least another month — minimum — with a handful of other casualties piling up to derail them early on.
With Francisco Alvarez’s knee surgery Thursday, the Mets are without 30% of their starting lineup (catcher, centerfielder, first base). Their two hottest players heading into the Subway Series were a pair of twenty-somethings barely out of Triple-A Syracuse: Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.
Benge had only 24 Triple-A games on his resume before winning the rightfield job out of spring training, and it’s taken him every bit of these past seven weeks to finally catch his stride up here. He had seven hits in the three-game sweep of the Tigers, including a 10th-inning walk-off RBI single, and was batting .338 with two homers, 10 RBIs and an .869 OPS in his last 19 games dating to April 23.
“We dug ourselves a hole,” Benge said Friday afternoon. “But I’m sure everyone in here believes we can get out of it. Just building game after game, and hopefully things will turn the right way.”
The 23-year-old outfielder could’ve been talking about himself. On April 23, Benge was hitting .136 with a .416 OPS and manager Carlos Mendoza was platooning him against lefty starters. Now Mendoza doesn’t dare take him out of the lineup.
The same goes for Ewing, 21, who was called up Monday in a desperation move by president of baseball operations David Stearns.
Three games later, we’re wondering what took Stearns so long. Ewing went 3-for-9 (triple, homer, two RBIs, four walks) and reached base safely in seven of his first 13 plate appearances against the Tigers. He’s been able to control the strike zone and work deep counts, as advertised. Not known for his power, Ewing smacked his first MLB homer off the bullpen roof in right-centerfield, not far from the Shea Bridge.
“I think it can be a part of my game,” said Ewing, who had three homers in 564 minor-league plate appearances last season. “I don’t think it’s going to be my identity. I want to spray the ball, hit a lot of line drives and put myself into position to get on base a lot. But I think when I catch stuff out front, it can happen for sure.”
Stearns couldn’t have dialed up a better spark than Ewing. For someone they didn’t want to be perceived as a savior, he’s played like one, and the Subway Series will be yet another test on a stage Ewing has never experienced before. He’s aced the first few exams this week.
“He brings the energy that we need,” Juan Soto said. “He’s a really humble kid that just came up and doing a great job out there, defensively and offensively.”
Somebody has to get the job done for the Mets, and it’s almost incomprehensible that this $370 million roster needs to rely on the kiddie corps to rescue them.
Maybe they’ll get some help this weekend from Soto, who could wake up against his former team.
Or even Bo Bichette, who’s excelled taking over at shortstop but has been a lost cause at the plate (.218 batting average, .551 OPS).
“It will feel like a playoff atmosphere,” Mendoza said.
That’s nothing new for the Yankees.
As for the Mets, they don’t want May to be their only taste of October this year.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
