Sale, Braves Look To Slow Down Surging New York Mets

Can The Mets Keep It Going With NL East Rival Atlanta Coming to Town?

It would be unthinkable a month or two ago to envision that the New York Mets could be on the verge of moving ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East standings. The Braves vs Mets MLB series odds favor the visiting Braves in the series opener.

The teams have split their first six games this season, with the road team winning four times. When the Braves hit the road to face the Mets in May, all three games finished under the total, with the Braves winning two of the three games.

• The best MLB bets have the Braves favored at -130 in Thursday’s series opener, with Cy Young candidate Chris Sale set to pitch for Atlanta. The Mets are priced at +110 to win the series opener.
• The Braves are third at +500 in the odds of winning the National League pennant, with the Mets eighth at +2800 in the National League championship odds.

Braves vs Mets Probable Starting Pitchers

• Thursday: Chris Sale (Braves); Luis Severino (Mets)
• Friday: Charlie Morton (Braves); Kodai Senga (Mets)
• Saturday: Spencer Schwellenbach (Braves); TBA (Mets)
• Sunday: Reynaldo Lopez (Braves); David Peterson (Mets)

A Tale Of Two Acquisitions

It wasn’t too long ago that if Chris Sale and Luis Severino would be taking the mound, it would be in a game between the Boston Red Sox and their American League East Division rival New York Yankees.

Sale and Severino were among the most prominent acquisitions for the Braves and the Mets.

Sale leads the majors with 13 wins after injuries limited Sale to 11 wins in the last three seasons with the Red Sox. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.20 in July. That is something to consider when it comes to the Braves vs Mets MLB series odds.

The #Braves have found the oddest way to make sure they limit Chris Sale’s innings in the second half. https://t.co/QBfJ0tYkmh

— Jake Mastroianni (@ShortStopBall) July 24, 2024

Severino is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in his last two starts to improve to 7-3 in his first season with the Mets.

Notably, six of New York’s last nine games went over the total.

It’s Not A Brave New World

The best news for the Atlanta Braves might be that the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader was rained out.

With Cincinnati beating the Braves in the first game, the losing streak for the Braves extended to four games. In two losses to the Reds and two others to the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta pitchers gave up seven doubles, three triples, and nine home runs as Atlanta was outscored 28-12.

That losing streak drops Atlanta’s record in July to 8-10 as the Braves are at risk of falling into third place in the National League East Division as the Mets just took two games from the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

Swaggy V leaves the yard 💪 pic.twitter.com/398aVmiZ8M

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 25, 2024

Six of Atlanta’s last nine games went under the total.

Who’s Hot

• Aaron Bummer, Atlanta Braves P: Bummer has allowed seven hits and one run with 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings over his last seven appearances.
• Francisco Lindor, New York Mets SS: Lindor is 13-for-34 with seven runs, five home runs, and 12 RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak.
• Phil Maton, New York Mets P: Maton has allowed two hits and one run in seven innings in six games since joining the Mets.
• Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves DH: Ozuna is 18-for-44 with 10 runs, five home runs, and seven RBIs in his previous 12 games.

Who’s Not

• Grant Holmes, Atlanta Braves P: Holmes has given up six hits and five runs over his last 6.2 innings.
• Brandon Nimmo, New York Mets OF: Nimmo is 1-for-29 with 14 strikeouts in his last seven games.
• Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves 1B: Olson is 3-for-38 with nine strikeouts over his last nine games.
• Adam Ottavino, New York Mets P: Ottavino has given up six hits and four runs in five innings over his last seven appearances.

Braves vs Mets Injury Update

The Braves can’t catch a break in the injury department. Having already lost pitcher Spencer Strider and reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. to season-ending injuries, now Atlanta will be without second baseman Ozzie Albies for about eight weeks. In addition, outfielder Michael Harris II hasn’t played since June 14.

Newly acquired infielder Whit Merrifield and third baseman Austin Riley are day-to-day. Pitchers Jimmy Herget, Tyler Matzek, and Huascar Ynoa are on the injured list.

Pitchers Kyle Crick, Shintaro Fujinami, and Sean Reid-Foley are on the injured list for the Mets.

Braves vs Mets Betting Preview

The Mets were nine games behind the Braves in late May, however, the Mets would move ahead of their division rivals if New York could take three of the four games from Atlanta in this series.

A quick peek at the MLB results, the Mets are 7-3 over the last 10 games, including taking a pair of games from the New York Yankees, and have picked up four games in the standings on the Braves.

When looking at the MLB player props options, remember that Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna is hitting .409 with five RBIs against the Mets, while New York’s Brandon Nimmo is batting .450 with three home runs versus the Braves.

Four of the last five road games for the Braves against the Mets went under the total of 7.5 for the series opener.

The Braves are 48-37 as favorites this season, while the Mets have split 40 games as underdogs. Only 18 of Atlanta’s 49 road games went over the total.

Atlanta is 19-21 against the run line as a road favorite this season, while the Mets have covered 11 of 18 games as home underdogs.

The Braves need to start figuring things out, and this four-game series is a good place to start.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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