Mets, Yankees tackle sub.-500 clubs this weekend

This weekend the Mets play host to the Milwaukee Brewers while the Yankees continue their west coast road trip in Oakland against the Athletics.

Steven Matz (5-1, 2.86 ERA) gets the ball for the Metson Friday nightafter missing his last start for precautionary elbow examinations. Matz has never faced the Brewers but his stellar 4.38 K/BB ratio should aid him against the team with the third-most strikeouts in baseball this season.

Countering for the Brewers is Wily Peralta (2-4, 7.30 ERA). The Mets had their way with Peralta when he was a member of the Braves last season; in one start (5.0 IP), the Mets tallied five runs on nine hits while inducing three walks. Curtis Granderson has been particularly successful against Peralta in the past (five hits in eight ABs including two HRs).

Jacob DeGrom (3-1, 2.50 ERA) will make his first start at home this month when he takes the mound on Saturday. In two starts at Citi Field this season he’s 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA. Ryan Braun, the Brewers’ most dangerous hitter, is 0-for-10 against DeGrom in his career.

Responding for Milwaukee is Zach Davies (1-3, 5.58 ERA). The 23-year-old rookie got off to a bumpy beginning but has turned in two quality starts in his last three contests. One thing Davies does well is keep the ball in the park (only three HRs allowed in 30.2 IP), which will be vital against the Mets, who are among the league leaders in longballs.

Noah Syndergaard (4-2, 2.19 ERA) gets the call in Sunday’s series finale. His lone career start against the Brewers was his second in the majors and it was a good one; he allowed only one run on three hits in six innings.

Chase Anderson (2-5, 5.32 ERA) will try to match strides with “Thor,” but his two starts against the Mets as a Diamondback last season were ones to forget (five runs on 16 hits in 10.0 IP).

Yankees

CC Sabathia is slated to return for the Yankeeson Friday night. Things were going well for Sabathia before he hit the DL with a strained groin (2-2, 3.81 ERA, including seven innings of shutout baseball against the Orioles on May 4).

The Yankees will be matched up against Sonny Gray, who has gotten off to a poor start in 2016 (3-4, 5.84 ERA). Yankee hitters have generally struggled against Gray, but Brett Gardner and Didi Gregorius have had their fair share of success against the Nashville native (6-for-15, two BBs combined).

Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 3.51 ERA) will get the ball for the Bombers in Saturday’s mid-afternoon tilt; Tanaka has faced the A’s twice in his career and has allowed them to hit only .146 in 13.2 IP.

Opposing the Yankees is A’s top prospect Sean Manaea, who finally had a respectable outing in his fourth career start (four hits with one run allowed against Texas in 6.2 IP, which lowered his ERA to 7.91). Facing him could give the Yankees’ batting statistics a much-needed boost, as they’re still in the bottom third in several major categories.

The series concludes on Sunday, and Michael Pineda starts for New York. Pineda’s season has been a disaster so far, as his ERA swelled to 6.60 after allowing 11 earned runs in his last two starts. His record on the season is now 1-5, which also documents the lack of run support he’s received. Since a 16-run explosion on April 6, the Bombers have failed to record more than three runs in each of Pineda’s last seven starts.

Jesse Hahn will be Pineda’s opposite number. Hahn struggled in his only start against the Yankees last season, as he allowed four runs in a 5-3 loss and served up a round-tripper to Carlos Beltran. Chase Headley had two hits in that contest as well.