Another outing for Michael King on Saturday night gave the youngster an additional chance to prove himself in front of his Yankees coaches.

He has been doing well through summer camp, facing the Yankees’ top lineup and showing success. But this time, he would be facing the New York Mets’ hitters – a true opponent for the first time in a long time.

And King made the best of his opportunity again, as he tries to make the Yankees’ roster. He went four innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three. Manager Aaron Boone called his outing “really, really good” and liked the way he attacked the Bombers’ crosstown rival.

“It was really good for him to go out there and set a really good tone for us,” Boone told reporters after the team’s 9-3 win. “He was on the attack, using all his pitches and really was in control of the game.

“It’s just another step up of competition. You’re going against another team in a different ballpark. It’s obviously our only three exhibition games.”

Those games and intrasquad scrimmages crammed into about three weeks of preparation before Opening Day is all King and others like Clarke Schmidt had to impress coaches enough to stay on the roster throughout the season. Boone said he has a “general idea” for King’s role this season, but everything is still up in the air even if Opening Day is only five days away.

King, though, is doing his part: Pitching well when his number is called and making it hard for the coaches to decide on what to do with him this season. Extra roster spots help his cause, but we won’t know for sure who makes the team until later in the week.

It’s a waiting game, but King looks really solid and can clearly handle big league hitters after watching him on the bump lately.

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