The Subway Series is back.
The Yankees and Mets will meet for the 15th time on Friday night in the annual matchup between New York’s two Major League Baseball teams.
The two franchises’ played against each other for the first time in history when interleague play became apart of baseball in 1997. Since then, the Yankees have dominated the matchup with six series wins while the Mets have only managed to take two series from their Bronx rivals.
Though the Mets have struggled to top the Yankees, both teams have tied the season series six times. Last year, the series was split.
Tonight, the Mets will travel to the Bronx to face right-handed pitcher Freddy Garcia, who has found the fountain of youth this season. Garcia is 2-3 on the season, with a 3.22 ERA. The Mets originally signed Garcia in 2009 to a minor league deal. But after early struggles for Triple-A affiliate Buffalo, Garcia was released.
Garcia has dominated in interleague play; he has a record of 21-8 with a 2.93 ERA, according the MLB.com.
For the Mets tonight, they will showcase knuckleball specialist R.A. Dickey, who takes the mound for game one. The remarkable story of Dickey has turned for worse this season, as Dickey is 1-5 with a 5.08 earned run average. Dickey, surprised the baseball world last year going 11-9 with a team low 2.84 ERA.
The Mets come into Friday’s game with a record of 21-22, fourth place in the National League East. They are coming off a two-game sweep of the Washington Nationals and have won six of their last eight games. They have seen clutch hitting from utility man Justin Turner, who is 8-for-21 in the past five games, also driving in 10 runs. The Mets will be without All-Star third basemen David Wright, as Wright was placed on the disabled list Wednesday due to an ailing back. The team will also be without up-and-coming first basemen, Ike Davis, who has been the catalyst for the team this season, as he is on the DL as well.
The Yankees (23-19), are in second place in the American League East. They are carrying a three-game win streak, and are coming off a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles.
Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET and can be viewed on the YES Network and SNY.
Probable Pitchers for the 2011 Subway Series:
Friday: RHP R.A. Dickey (2-4, 5.03) vs. RHP Freddy Garcia (2-2, 3.40), 7:05 p.m. ET
Saturday: LHP Chris Capuano (2-0, 4.44) vs. RHP A.J. Burnett (3-5, 3.92), 7:10 p.m. ET
Sunday: RHP Mike Pelfrey (2-0, 4.44) vs. RHP Ivan Nova (3-5, 3.92), 1:05 p.m. ET
