Mets thrive under Mendoza, Yankees left to wonder what if?

The Mets achieved a significant milestone in their rivalry with the Yankees, sweeping the season series for only the second time in franchise history. The final game of the four-game matchup resulted in a decisive 12-3 victory for the Mets in the Bronx, witnessed by a crowd of 48,760 with mixed emotions.

Throughout the season’s encounters, the Mets dominated the Yankees with a cumulative score of 36-13. This success marks the first time since 2013 that the Mets have shown such superiority over their crosstown rivals, a span of time that puts into perspective the youth of current players like Anthony Volpe and Francisco Alvarez at that time.

The Mets’ performance has propelled them to a 53-48 record, reaching five games above .500 for the first time since April 23, 2023. Conversely, the Yankees (60-44) continue to struggle, having lost 22 of their last 32 games. Their offensive woes persist as they search for consistent production beyond their top hitters.

The success of the Mets under Carlos Mendoza‘s leadership has been particularly notable, leading to speculation about the Yankees’ decision to let their former bench coach depart. Mendoza’s strategic approach against his former team has proven highly effective.

Mets win over Yankees riding behind Mendoza

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza strategically outmaneuvered Yankees manager Aaron Boone in their recent series. Mendoza’s approach included starting left-handed pitchers David Peterson and Sean Manaea in the June 25-26 games, exploiting the Yankees’ weakness against lefties. This strategy continued in the recent series with Jose Quintana and Manaea, limiting the Yankees to just three runs across 9 2/3 innings.

Mendoza also wisely avoided pitching Luis Severino against his former team, potentially preventing a disadvantageous situation for the Mets. The Mets’ strategy of walking or hitting Aaron Judge five times out of his nine at-bats effectively neutralized the Yankees’ biggest offensive threat.

After the series, Mendoza expressed pride in his team’s performance, particularly their ability to score against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

In contrast, Boone’s decisions were criticized as ineffective. His lineup choices, including batting Gleyber Torres and JD Davis in the cleanup spot and keeping Anthony Volpe in the leadoff position despite poor performance, failed to produce results. This suggests these decisions were among the worst possible outcomes.

Boone’s decision to start Gerrit Cole, who has historically struggled against the Mets, was also questioned. Giving Cole extra rest and avoiding a challenging matchup could have been more beneficial.

Further criticism was directed at Boone’s lineup choices for the Tuesday night game, where he started right-handed batters Jahmai Jones, JD Davis, and Carlos Narvaez against left-handed pitcher Quintana. This move, described as a typical Boone tactic of playing matchups with less skilled players, backfired as these players combined for a 0-for-8 performance with six strikeouts.

This portrays a stark contrast between Mendoza’s effective strategy and Boone’s questionable decision-making throughout the series.

Yankees front office must be ruing the mistake

The contrast in the managerial approaches of Carlos Mendoza and Aaron Boone during the recent Yankees-Mets series was clearly evident. Mendoza’s strategy of pitching around Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in Tuesday’s game resulted in the duo going 0-for-5 with five walks. However, the Yankees failed to capitalize on these base runners, largely due to JD Davis’s ineffective batting behind them. The game ended 3-2 in favor of the Mets, with both teams struggling with runners in scoring position.

Mendoza, in his rookie year as manager, has already demonstrated more strategic acumen than Boone has shown since 2018. There was a previous warning that allowing Mendoza to join the Mets could prove detrimental to the Yankees, a prediction that seems to be materializing.

Boone’s decisions, particularly his lineup choices for Tuesday’s game and the decision to start Gerrit Cole against a team he historically struggles against, are heavily criticized. These choices effectively sealed the Yankees’ fate in the series.

The Yankees’ front office made a blunder by extending Boone’s contract after the 2021 season and for allowing Mendoza, described as the most qualified in-house option, to leave for a rival team in the same market. This is characterized as part of a larger pattern of poor decision-making by the Yankees organization.

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