The New York Mets take on their division rival in the Atlanta Braves for the fourth game of a four-game series in Atlanta tonight. These teams have been trading blows for a while now. The Mets won four out of five games against the Braves including sweeping a doubleheader a couple weeks ago. Then, the Braves responded by winning their next eight games straight after that series before these two teams matched up again for a four-game series in Atlanta. The Braves won the first two games of the series with both Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker getting injured after pitching two innings. The Mets bullpen pitched a ton in those blowouts, but they had Max Scherzer start last night and were able to pick up the win behind him. That sets the stage for tonight’s matchup with the Braves leading the series 2-1 and the Mets leading the NL East by 4.5 games.
Jacob Degrom is facing Max Fried tonight in a battle of aces in Atlanta. Jacob Degrom will be making his fourth start, so he should finally be close to not having a pitch cap anymore if he still has one at all. He hasn’t allowed more than three hits in a start yet while going at least five innings in all three games. However, he has already faced the Braves so it could give them a slight advantage with seeing him recently. They also hit a home run off him in that game, and if they can keep it close, they should have a good chance.
We saw the Braves bats take off in the seventh inning last night after they got Max Scherzer out of the game. They not only came within one, but they also tied the game in the ninth inning after the Mets took the lead again. However, the Braves have Max Fried pitching tonight instead of Jake Odorizzi, so they will have a much better chance at keeping this game close. Max Fried’s last start was against the Mets in that four-game series, and he allowed two earned runs in six innings, but there were also two unearned runs scored in that game. The Braves have much more bullpen depth too so if Fried has to come out early, they can still keep it within distance. The main worry here is Jacob Degrom pitching seven innings and the Mets going to Edwin Diaz for a two inning save so if that happens, we’ll just have to tip our cap and move onto the next, but I am willing to take that chance at plus money.
John's Pick: Braves +110 vs. Mets