The opening week of the MLB season did not bring welcoming starts to the New York Yankees or New York Mets, as both teams got off to relatively poor starts. However, both teams have shown progress in their past few games. It is very early in the season, and both squads are hoping that more success will come their way.

The Yankees began their season in Houston, facing off against the Astros. The team lost the first two games of the series to the Astros, as they were plagued by a lack of offensive production, as well as less-than-stellar pitching. Despite their pitching troubles in the first two games of the series, the Yankees were able to salvage the last game of the series down in Houston, and moved on to Toronto to face off against the Blue Jays.

The first game of the series in Toronto brought much excitement to Yankees fans, as prized offseason acquisition Masahiro Tanaka made his debut with the team. After surrendering a leadoff home run to Blue Jays left fielder Melky Cabrera, Tanaka settled in, and managed to pitch seven innings, only surrendering two runs. The Yankees took two out of three games up in Toronto, and traveled home to face off against the Baltimore Orioles.

The team won their home opener, 4-2, however the highlight of the game was not the victory, rather the game was of heightened importance because of the fact that it would be the last home opener for longtime shortstop Derek Jeter, who has spent his whole career with the Yankees, and appears to be on track for election into the Hall of Fame. Currently, the team stands at 11-8, as they have been able to win multiple series as of late.

As for the Mets, they opened their season by getting swept by the Washington Nationals. Undoubtedly, this was not the opening to the 2014 season Mets fans were hoping for. In the series, the Mets received a very poor performance from their bullpen, which compiled a 10.61 ERA, but that was not the only bad news for the Mets; they also lost closer Bobby Parnell to a MCL tear, which will cost him the rest of the season. Things started to improve for the Mets, as they went into their next series against the Cincinnati Reds.

In the first game of the series, the Mets received a stellar outing from starting pitcher Jenrry Mejia, who struck out eight Reds batters over the course of six innings. Jose Valverde, who took over for the injured Parnell as the team’s closer, was able to record his first save with the team. The Mets were also able to win the second game of the series, as first basemen Ike Davis, who recently was put on the bench, pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth, and hit a walk-off grand slam off of Cincinnati’s J.J. Hoover. The Mets did drop the last game of the series, but starting pitcher Jon Niese came off of the Disabled List to make the start, and pitched 5.2 innings, surrendering only two runs. After the series, the Mets moved on to Atlanta, embarking on a nine game road trip that will also take them out west to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the first game of the series in Atlanta, the Mets received a superb pitching performance from starter Bartolo Colon, who hurled seven shutout innings before turning it over to relievers Kyle Farsworth and Jose Valverde, who also surrendered nothing in the 4-0 shutout. The Mets record currently stands 9-9.

Overall, it has been a very riveting first week of the MLB season for both New York clubs. Both struggled out of the gate, but were able to right the ship over the course of the past few games. Both teams have similar records, and look to build upon the recent success they have had, en route to a strong 2014 season.