New York Yankees vs. New York Mets: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Jacob deGrom

Masahiro Tanaka has two goals as he takes the mound against the Mets tonight: follow the lead set by the Yankees’ pitching in Toronto, and don’t get hurt running the bases.

Sonny Gray and CC Sabathia were both great in their starts against the Blue Jays, and it’s now Tanaka’s turn to put up a strong start. What’s been Tanaka’s biggest weakness over the last year and a half? Home runs! Fortunately for him, the Mets don’t boast a lot of power.

25th in baseball in total HRs and 28th in slugging, the other New York team really struggles to do much damage offensively, and hopefully that means Tanaka will be able to work around his home run tendencies and give the Yankees their third straight good start. It’ll be needed tonight, since the Yankees face one of the game’s best starters on the other end.

Jacob deGrom has been fantastic, striking out more than 12 men per 9 innings and boasting an ERA and FIP below two. If Max Scherzer weren’t steamrolling through the National League, deGrom might be considered the best in baseball period. There have been some whispers that the Mets may be willing to sell on Jake as we approach the trade deadline, and starting against the best lineup in baseball would be a great litmus test for prospective trades.

First pitch is at 7:10pm EDT in Queens, on YES and WFAN.