The struggling New York Yankees were preparing to face two of MLB's best pitchers in back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday in their two-game set with the New York Mets. Max Scherzer will pitch Monday's game against the Yankees and Jacob deGrom was scheduled to pitch on Tuesday. But the Mets have decided to start Taijuan Walker instead of deGrom on Tuesday, per Mets beat writer Tim Healey.

The reasoning for the switch is unclear. But the Yankees clearly dodged a bullet by not having to face Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer in consecutive games. Since returning from injury, deGrom has posted a 2.31 ERA and ridiculous 0.51 WHIP. He's only pitched in 4 games so far in 2022, but deGrom is still one of the best pitchers in the sport without question.

Meanwhile, Max Scherzer has been excellent as well. Scherzer owns a sparkling 2.15 ERA and 0.93 WHIP through 17 games this year. He's also racked up 134 strikeouts.

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It should be noted that Taijuan Walker is also a good pitcher. His 3.36 ERA is respectable and he's been a crucial arm in the Mets rotation. But he is not Jacob deGrom.

The Mets and Yankees always play a competitive and entertaining brand of baseball with one another. The Yankees had a better record than them for most of the season. But their recent slump combined with the Mets' success has led to the Mets owning a better record than the Yankees.

So with New York pride on the line, we should expect a tremendous series between these two talented ball clubs.