The Yankees and Mets are not going to have it any easier.
The Mets, who finished a similarly poor homestandby by almost getting no-hit on Wednesday, and the Yankees, who went cold on a road trip to Miami and Texas, will face tough opponents.
The Yankees will play their biggest opponent in the last ten years, the Houston Astros, this weekend.
Additionally, the Mets will go to Milwaukee to play the pitching-rich Brewers, who aren’t exactly the kind of team that struggling offenses usually face.
A closer look at what both clubs might expect is provided here.
The Yankees (51-64) defeated the Texas Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday to maintain their third and final American League wild card place, but it was their sole win of a 1-5 road trip.
After Thursday s off day, the Yankees return to the Bronx, where they are 34-22, compared to 27-32 on the road.
Despite losing nine of their last 13 games, the Astros (64-51) are also on a downward trajectory right now. However, they will enter the series against the Yankees with their top two pitchers.
The Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler (1-2, 4.58 ERA) will make his fifth career start, while right-hander Hunter Brown (9-5, 2.47 ERA) will start Friday night’s series opener.
After struggling to a 5.54 ERA across five starts in July, Brown—who was named a first-time All-Star this season—bounced back with a seven-inning, one-run gem in Boston last week.
The flame-throwing Schlittler, on the other hand, recorded a similar line in each of his three prior starts and held the Miami Marlins to two runs over five innings last weekend.
Houston left-hander Framber Valdez (11-5, 2.83 ERA) will face Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (0-1, 13.50 ERA) on Saturday afternoon. Gil will be making his second start of the season.
Despite having another fantastic season, Valdez, an upcoming free agent, has struggled against the Yankees in the regular season.
His four career starts against the Yankees have a 6.50 ERA, which is the worst he has ever had against any team he has faced at least three times. In Game 2 of the 2022 ALCS in Houston, Valdez did, however, throw seven shutout innings against the Yankees.
A high grade lat strain that developed during spring training kept Gil out of action for the first four months of 2025.
The hard-throwing right-hander surrendered five runs in 3.1 innings against the Marlins on Sunday, struggling with his command to the tune of four walks.
“What’s most important is that I felt really, really good physically,” Gil remarked afterward through an interpreter.
Although I wasn’t commanding as I would have liked, in hindsight, it was my first major league start since October of last year, so I’m confident we can adjust.
The Yankees alum will play in a regular baseball game for the first time since 2019 on Saturday, which is also Old-Timers Day.
Max Fried (12-4, 2.78 ERA) will then start for the Yankees to wrap out the three-game series; Houston has not yet named its starter for Sunday afternoon.
Since the Astros re-acquired star infielder Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins prior to last week’s trade deadline, this will be the Yankees’ first meeting with Houston.
With a.721 OPS and eight home runs this season, 30-year-old Correa has fallen short of his All-Star standard.
However, Correa appears to have been shaken by returning to the Astros, with whom he played his first seven seasons from 2015 to 21. Since the deal, he has hit nine hits in 26 at-bats (.346) and hit a home run in six games.
Aaron Judge, meanwhile, returned to the Yankees’ lineup on Tuesday following a 10-day absence due to a strained flexor in his right elbow. Until he is cleared to return to the field, Judge is playing as the Yankees’ designated hitter.
The Yankees’ victory on Wednesday put them 1.5 games ahead of Texas for the last wild card slot. The Yankees, who have been 19-29 since June 13, are 1.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians.
Manager Aaron Boone stated, “We have to dig ourselves out here, but as I’ve said, it’s there for us.” This is something we must go take. I am adamant that I think we have a bright future. Those guys in the room have my faith.
The Astros eliminated the Yankees from the postseason in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022. The animosity was heightened by Houston’s 2017 cheating controversy.
But the Yankees got the best of Houston last year, winning six of their seven head-to-head meetings.
The Yankees and Astros are playing their first series of the season this weekend. Next month, they are also planning to meet in Houston.
In last year’s Wild Card series, Pete Alonso’s game-winning three-run home drive in the ninth inning of Game 3 propelled the Mets past the Brewers, making their previous trip to Milwaukee an all-time highlight.
However, heading into this weekend’s series, the momentum is distinctly different.
Milwaukee comes into Friday on a six-game winning streak and is 21-4 since July 6.
With a National League-best 3.00 ERA during that winning run, the MLB-best Brewers (70-44) will start three potent pitchers against the Mets this weekend.
The fact that the Mets (63-52) spent 13 innings without a hit during their losses to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday and Wednesday is an unenviable reality. Gavin Williams’ no-hit bidon Wednesday was broken by Juan Soto’s home run in the ninth inning with one out.
Regarding the Mets’ offensive inconsistency, Soto remarked, “I really don’t know what’s going on, but definitely we have the talent and the guys that can do damage here.” I believe it will turn around eventually.
The Mets are 36-37 since May 13. The Mets’.387 slugging percentage is the eighth worst during that time, and their.229 average is the second lowest among MLB clubs.
In their last nine games, the Mets have suffered eight losses. The Mets offense needs to do better at making in-game adjustments, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, following Wednesday’s loss.
We are all affected. As a manager, it rests on me, but we’re all in this together, Mendoza stated. I will refrain from blaming anyone. Although I am aware that we have some excellent players, I will point the finger at myself since I am the manager. I’m accountable. It begins with me, even if I am aware of how hard those guys are working.
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff (3-0, 2.22 ERA) is scheduled to start for Milwaukee in Friday night’s series opener, while Kodai Senga (7-3, 2.31 ERA) will start for the Mets.
Since coming off the injured list for a hamstring strain, Senga has a 6.89 ERA with 10 walks over four starts. During that time, he is averaging four innings per game.
After giving up four runs in four innings to the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, Senga stated through an interpreter, “My body is great.”
My body is in perfect condition. I might be overcompensating in some areas mechanically. Perhaps not quite back yet, but making every effort to return as soon as possible to the peak performance.
Logan Henderson, a rookie right-hander (3-0, 1.78 ERA), is scheduled to throw for Milwaukee on Saturday night, but the Mets have not yet announced a starter.
Sean Manaea is scheduled to start Sunday afternoon s series finale for the Mets, while the Brewers are going with right-hander Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.15 ERA).
Alonso enters the weekend with 251 career home runs, one away from tying and two away from breaking Darryl Strawberry s franchise record.
The Mets could use some more magic in Milwaukee. They are 2.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
Nobody said it s going to be easy to go all the way, Soto said. It s a challenge. We ve just got to go out there and take it from them. Nobody is going to bring the trophy over here and give it to us. We ve got to go out there and take it.
