It’s been an emotional couple of days for the Yankees, with the storybook return of Anthony Volpe on Thursday almost immediately balanced by the weight of yesterday’s 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. If nothing else, the Yankees won both those games, and stand a good Gerrit Cole start away from likely taking another game, and another series, this afternoon taking on the Mets.
Cole really has one job today — do not give up four home runs. One of the strangest starts you’ll ever see came last weekend
in San Diego, where the veteran righty did just that against the Padres, and while they were all solo shots (with a back-to-back-to-back to begin the game), that fateful fourth allowed in the seventh made an ultimately-doomed comeback attempt impossible. Cole’s walk rate is Mars-class, and part of that tradeoff is often pitches in-zone that can be driven with authority, but he’s got to turn those fly balls into outs rather than free handouts to fans. If he does that today, I’m comfortable every time he takes the mound.
Zac Thornton counters for the Mets, a player I’m unfamilar with overall but having quite a solid rookie turn in MLB. A 3.53 ERA is undercut but a FIP almost a full run higher, largely driven by the 2023 fifth-rounder’s low strikeout rate and a high HR rate that xFIP at least believes will be cut down a bit. The Yankee offense is looking a little more professional in recent days, but we’ve also seen how seemingly unknown lefties can torment them in 2026.
Aaron Judge gets a half day off today, as he’ll DH facing the southpaw. This opens right field up for Heliot Ramos and his adventures on defense, while Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario man the corners of the infield. Austin Wells has the catching duties even after playing in last night’s game.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY
First pitch: 1:35 pm ET
TV broadcast: YES, SNY
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App 92.3 HD2 (NYM)
Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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