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New York Yankees vs. New York Mets: Nestor Cortes Jr. vs. Corey Oswalt

Can the Yankees avoid the doubleheader sweep that would drop them below .500?

By Peter Brody
Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees - Game Two Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

The Yankees carried a one-run lead into the bottom of the seventh, but true to form, Aroldis Chapman blew another save to gift the Mets the victory in the first game of the split doubleheader. Should the Yankees get swept today, they will fall below .500 for the first time since May 1. That would be a good thing to avoid.

Nestor Cortes Jr. makes his first start of the season and has been something of a revelation since rejoining the Yankees. In seven appearances since May 30, Cortes has the highest strikeout rate and lowest FIP of any Yankee reliever with at least five innings pitched. He owns a 1.02 ERA, 1.68 FIP, and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.

Corey Oswalt is also making his first start of the season in the majors. He has bounced between MLB and Triple-A and has mostly worked in a relief role. He throws a fastball around 92 in addition to a slider and changeup. All three get hit hard so it’s a good opportunity for the Yankees to salvage a result today. In two relief appearances, he has a 1.42 ERA, 1.73 FIP, and six strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

The five runs the Yankees offense put up in the first game was nothing to shake a stick at, but they were never going to be able to cover their imploding pitching staff. Gary Sánchez returns to the lineup to replace Cole’s personal catcher Kyle Higashioka. Miguel Andújar replaces Tim Locastro in left while Rougned Odor takes over at second, moving DJ LeMahieu to third, Gio Urshela to short and Gleyber Torres to the bench.

The Mets offense has by no means been a juggernaut this season, but that didn’t stop them from putting up four runs in 3.1 innings against the Yankees ace and a ten-spot in total in game one. They could very well put on another fireworks display in the Bronx tonight.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:08 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: ESPN

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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