Mets head to Bronx for Subway Series renewal

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK – A regular criticism of the Subway Series is the fact that, over the years, it has rarely featured the Yankees and Mets with both teams going well. The stakes have always been high for bragging rights around the five boroughs; less so for prominence in the American League and the National League.

This week’s two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday at Yankee Stadium should be a notable exception, featuring major stakes for each side. The Mets, who were enjoying a hot run of play when they first encountered the Yankees on June 25-26, have cooled a bit, but remain in prime Wild Card contention. They’re almost certainly going to be Trade Deadline buyers, but how they play over the next week could determine the depth of help they receive.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have steadied things since a tough run in late June and early July, yet not to the extent that anyone in the Bronx feels comfortable with their recent form. They, too, must prove their worthiness of Deadline help, as well as their ability to keep pace with the Orioles in the AL East.

Need more evidence that this Subway Series will be a big one? When Mets starter Luis Severino recently shared some of his friendly trash talk in a group chat he maintains with his former Yankees teammates -- including a quip that, “Right now, you only have two good hitters” -- it caused enough of a stir for Yankees manager Aaron Boone to respond with a level of sobriety.

“We’ll see where the dust settles when we’re all said and done,” Boone said. “I saw the way Sevy said it, and it was kind of whatever -- hopefully we can answer him.”

Severino won’t pitch in the Subway Series, in part because Mets officials hoped to give him extra rest after leading the team in innings before the All-Star break, and also because they wanted to line up left-handers Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea against a team that’s been weaker facing southpaw pitching. Yet Severino does have perhaps the best Subway Series perspective of any player in either clubhouse, given his eight seasons in the Bronx before moving to Queens.

“It’s always a friendly competition,” Severino said. “The players that you play with, it’s going to be fun. Hopefully in the future, I can face them.”