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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge homers on a fly ball to right center field, his 500th extra base hit, ... More during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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The New York Yankees and Mets are up to a combined 18 games and while it is still way early to determine how it looks when both teams complete the marathon 162-game schedule, both are offering decent first impressions a year after nearly engaging in the second “Subway Series” to determine a World Championship and following an offseason when Juan Soto exited the Yankees to join the Mets on a massive 15-year, $765 million contract.
The Yankees are up to six wins in nine games, which if that pace stayed the course would give them 108 wins. The Mets are also at the same pace, though you figure both will slow their respective paces and if all goes according to plan the teams wind up the low to mid-90s in terms of a win total.
Both teams are doing it in different ways, especially at the plate.
Even with not hitting a home run for the first time this season on Sunday, the Yankees lead the American League with 76 runs, are second with 92 hits while their 25 homers lead the league and are two more than the Dodgers, who rarely seem to lose. The Yankees are second in the majors with a .285 average after getting to the World Series last season with a .248 average.
The lineup is fueled by the noisy start from Aaron Judge, who started slowly last season and in 2022 when he still wound up hitting 58 and 62 homers respectively. Not only is Judge hitting .324, but he is also at six homers and 17 RBIs as a non-torpedo bat user.
While Paul Goldschmidt is doing his part as a novice leadoff hitter, the Yankees are actually fielding a lineup of six homegrown regulars and getting decent results. The batting averages tend to fluctuate in the early going but the Yankees are seeing plenty of positive results from the trio of Jasson Dominguez, Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice, a trio who is combining to produce a respectable .257 average with seven homers and 18 RBIs.
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