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Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 23, 2010 ) NY Yankees 4, NY Mets 6
The New York Mets have finally figured out how to win on the road, but now they have to put their six-game road winning streak up against the best home team in the American League.
The surging Mets wrap up their nine-game road trip with a three-game series against the cross-town rival New York Yankees beginning tonight, and both teams need victories to stay in the thick of their respective division races.
The Mets have won seven straight and 18 of 23 to pull within a half-game of Atlanta in the National League East. They've even won the first six games of this road trip after holding an NL-worst 8-18 road mark when it began.
The Yankees lost the last two games of their World Series rematch with the Philadelphia Phillies, but they're still tied with Tampa Bay atop the American League East and have matched the Rays for the best record in baseball at 41-25.
If they're going to keep pace tonight, the Yankees will need another strong outing from starter Javier Vazquez.
After a horrendous start to the season, Vazquez (6-5, 5.43 ERA) has posted quality starts in five of his last six starts. He failed to get out of the sixth inning in any of his first five starts this year, but he has lasted seven innings in four of his last six outings.
Since giving up three homers and getting chased in the fourth inning against the White Sox on May 1, Vazquez is 5-2 with a 2.93 ERA. He is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA in June.
In his last outing, the 33-year-old right-hander held the Astros to three runs on six hits over seven innings, striking out six and picking up his third consecutive win.
Vazquez is 10-8 with a 3.24 ERA in 24 career starts against the Mets. He has beaten them once this season, allowing one hit and two walks in six scoreless innings in a 2-1 Yankees win on May 21 at Citi Field.
In that one, Vazquez outdueled Mets starter Hisanori Takahashi, who will again be his counterpart tonight.
Takahashi (5-2, 3.48 ERA) has been inconsistent since joining the Mets' rotation last month. He is 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA in five starts, but he has been spectacular in three of those outings and has been hit hard in the other two.
After consecutive poor outings, Takahashi bounced back to beat Baltimore on Saturday, holding the Orioles to one run on six hits over seven innings.
The 35-year-old rookie left-hander held the Yankees to five hits and a walk in six scoreless innings in his first Subway Series appearance, but he didn't factor in the decision.
Mets third baseman David Wright has at least one RBI in each of the past seven games and is tied with Atlanta's Troy Glaus for the National League lead with 53 RBIs. Over the past seven games, Wright is 11-for-32 with two homers and 13 RBIs. Since May 30, Wright is hitting .431 with four homers and 19 RBIs.
Outfielder Jason Bay was held out of the Mets lineup Thursday after leaving Wednesday's game with a bruised thigh. He might get another night off today, because he is 2-for-14 lifetime against Vazquez.
Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano went 2-for-4 Thursday to raise his major league-best batting average to .372 and extend his hitting streak to 10 games. During the streak, Cano is hitting .462 with two homers and six RBIs.