One Ace Down, Two to Go

The Yankees won’t get a break after facing Cy Young candidate Alek Manoah and avoiding a four-game sweep by the Blue Jays. On Monday and Tuesday, the Yankees face the Mets and could face the two-headed monster in their starting rotation.

Max Scherzer starts Monday at Yankee Stadium. Jacob deGrom was expected to follow, keeping up their recent back-to-back starts, but it is possible that the Mets will delay him so that Taijuan Walker will get the start instead.

Walker had back spasms on Tuesday and had to leave his start, but on Sunday he took part in pitcher fielding practice. Buck Showalter said Walker’s workout went well and he could start Tuesday, but the Mets won’t decide until Monday.

In either case, the Yankees could use some easy matchups. On Sunday, Andrew Benintendi contributed to the Yankees’ 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays by hitting his first home run for New York since being acquired from Kansas City.

On Sunday, the Yankees (74-48) scored the same number of runs as they had in each of the first three games against Toronto. Up until July 8, the Yankees had a 15.5-game lead in the American League East, but that lead has since been cut to eight games.

That should be enough of a buffer for a team that was the favorite to win the World Series back in April. The Mets (79-44) have been playing better over the past few weeks, and it will be difficult for them to face Scherzer and deGrom.

Scherzer, who is 38, is having a great season once again. His earned run average for the Mets is 2.15. On Wednesday against Atlanta, he gave up four earned runs. Adam Ottavino gave up a three-run homer after he left the game with the Mets ahead 6-1.

DeGrom returned from a shoulder injury on Aug. 2. DeGrom, a 34-year-old right-hander, has allowed six earned runs in 2313 innings while striking out 37 and walking one. DeGrom allowed three runs in six and two-thirds innings against Atlanta in his last start.

On Tuesday, it won’t be easy for the Yankees to beat Walker. Walker has made 21 starts this season and has a 3.36 ERA. On July 26, he beat the Yankees. At Citi Field, Walker, who is 30, kept the Yankees to just three runs, and the Mets won both games.

Yankees want revenge. They hope to keep winning after a tough series against a division rival.

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