Aug 17, 2017; New York City, NY, USA; New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez (24) celebrates his three run home run with Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks (31) in front of New York Mets third baseman Travis d’Arnaud (18) during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Editorial by: Graydon Fox

Prizes:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 Winners:

1. Langleylife101 (400 points)
2. Captainchamp81 (250 points)
3. Preztrump42020 (250 points)
4. 911kylem (250 points)
5. bcgbrown (250 points)

Overview:

On Sunday, June 10^th, the (39-18) New York Yankees will be on the road to take on the (27-31) New York Mets.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” is projecting a final score of Yankees 6.0 – Mets 2.4 with an over/under of 8.4.

Starting Pitchers:

NYY: Luis Severino (9-1, 2.20) vs NYM: Noah Syndergaard (4-1, 3.06)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Yankees 5.68 (1^st) > Mets 3.98 (25^th)

Batting Average: Yankees .257 (5^th) > Mets .234 (22^nd)

On Base Percentage: Yankees .338 (2^nd) > Mets .312 (22^nd)

Total Bases: Yankees 936 (2^nd) > Mets 747 (27^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Yankees 30 (15^th) > Mets 25 (20^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Yankees 3.73 (12^th) > Mets 4.17 (17^th)

Batting Average Against: Yankees .222 (4^th) > Mets .256 (22^nd)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Yankees 1.20 (5^th) > Mets 1.34 (20^th)

Strikeouts: Yankees 579 (5^th) > Mets 550 (7^th)

Saves: Mets 17 (8^th) > Yankees 15 (14^th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Mets 34 (14^th) > Yankees 40 (25^th)

Summary:

The Yankees enter the game leading the league in runs per game (5.68) and 12^th in team earned run average (3.73).  The Yankees are (7-3) in their last ten games and (17-9) on the road this season.  The new “bash brothers” Aaron Judge (.276, 16 HR, 41 RBI) and Giancarlo Stanton (.251, 13 HR, 32 RBI) are certainly providing thunder in the lineup though they are striking out at an alarming rate.  Gleyber Torres (.298, 10 HR, 28 RBI) is among the favorites to win rookie of the year and has provided quite a spark for the Yankees.  The Yankees starting staff has been better than expected and their dynamite bullpen has the 6^th best ERA in baseball (3.25).  If there’s an Achilles heel for the Bronx Bombers it’s their suspect defense as they’ve committed the 6^th most errors (40).  The Yankees will be up against flamethrower Noah Syndergaard (4-1, 3.06) but he is making his first start since returning from the disabled list.

The Mets rank 25^th in runs per game (3.98) and 17^th in team ERA (4.17).  The Mets have lost five straight games and are just (2-8) in their last ten.  Surprisingly the Mets have one of the worst home records (12-18) in the majors this year.  The Mets have battled injuries and inconsistent lineup production all season.  A lack of power is glaring as the Mets have hit the 6^th fewest homers (59) of any team.  Asdrubal Cabrera (.287, 10 HR, 34 RBI) has been one of the lone bright spots while Yoenis Cespedes (.255, 8 HR, 28 RBI) isn’t producing to the star level we are accustomed to seeing.  The bullpen for the Mets has really let them down ranking 26^th in earned run average (4.53).  The Mets will have their hands full with hard throwing Luis Severino (9-1, 2.20) who is among the leaders for this year’s A.L. Cy Young Award.  Severino has dominated the Mets holding them to a combined .136 average in 44 at-bats.

Bottom Line:

The Yankees are red hot right now scoring a bunch of runs whereas the Mets are quite the opposite.  I expect this to be a low scoring game with two of the better pitchers in baseball facing off.  Syndergaard could be a bit rusty in his first start off the D.L. while Severino has only given up more than three runs in one of his thirteen starts this season.  The Mets have really struggled to win at home so I’m taking the Yankees to win this one on the road.

Contest Rules:

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line.

All prizes will be sent by e-mail within two weeks after the conclusion of each contest.