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Mets-Yankees Preview

Jun 19, 2010 - 11:11 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

New York (39-28) at New York (41-26), 1:05 p.m. EDT

This year's first edition of the Subway Series began with the New York Yankees winning in Queens before the New York Mets responded with two wins. The Yankees could return the favor in the Bronx, though it's unclear if Derek Jeter will be available to help make it happen.

After ending the Mets' season-high eight-game winning streak, the Yankees hope Jeter will be in the lineup Sunday for a marquee pitching matchup between aces CC Sabathia and Johan Santana.

The Mets (39-29) were in last place last month during the first Subway Series and lost the opener before winning the final two games to start a major league-best 19-7 stretch that has vaulted them into contention.

A 4-0 win Friday extended the Mets' win streak and put them in position to win a fourth straight game against their city rivals for the first time. The Yankees, though, got seven strong innings from Phil Hughes to win 5-3 on Saturday.

Jeter, baseball's all-time leader with 311 interleague hits, was a late scratch Saturday. The Yankees (42-26) said Jeter received treatment after bruising his right heel running the bases Friday.

The star shortstop is a career .378 hitter against the Mets and 13 for 30 versus Santana (5-3, 3.13 ERA), who is set to meet Sabathia (7-3, 4.00) for the second time this year.

Santana allowed one run over 7 2-3 innings in a 6-4 victory May 23 as he defeated Sabathia, who gave up six runs over five innings.

When Sabathia pitched for Cleveland and Santana for Minnesota, the left-handers faced each other four times. Sabathia went 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in those outings while Santana was 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA.

Sabathia has a 3.43 ERA in winning his last three starts. He gave up three runs over seven innings in Tuesday's 8-3 victory over Philadelphia, improving to 9-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his last 13 regular-season home outings.

Santana's lone start in the new Yankee Stadium was a poor one. He gave up nine runs - then a career high - over three-plus innings in a 15-0 loss last June 14.

He's given up four runs in each of his last two outings, but his seven-inning stint Tuesday in a 7-6 victory at Cleveland was good enough for his first win since beating Sabathia last month.

Yankees sluggers Mark Teixeira (7 for 30) and Alex Rodriguez (5 for 26) have fared poorly against Santana in their careers.

Rodriguez served as the designated hitter Saturday after he played third base Friday. Manager Joe Girardi wanted to be cautious with Rodriguez, who missed four games with hip tendinitis.

Teixeira and Curtis Granderson homered for the Yankees on Saturday, and Robinson Cano had two hits to continue his surge. Cano is hitting .430 since May 18 and leads the majors with a .371 average.

"We haven't hit with consistency, and whenever we get that, we try to keep the pressure on," Granderson told the Yankees' official Web site.

Among the hot hitters for the Mets are Jeff Francoeur, batting .406 over his last 18 games, and Jose Reyes, who homered twice Saturday and is batting .438 during an 11-game hitting streak.

"Some stadiums you feel comfortable hitting. I feel comfortable here," said Reyes, 4 for 9 with four RBIs in this series - his first at the new Yankee Stadium.

The Mets are seeking to capture the season series from the Yankees for the third time, doing so in 2004 and 2008.