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The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves begin a three-game set on Tuesday. It is perhaps the single most important series of the season for both teams. Just two games separate them in the wild-card race, and a series win for one would be brutal for the other.
Since it's the penultimate series of the year, there's still time to recover from anything that happens in this series, but not much time. Winning this series and getting off to a good start is virtually imperative.
Mets vs. Braves recent form and records
The New York Mets have surged lately, winning seven of their last 10 games and forcing themselves into the wildcard. They currently hold the second wild-card spot by half a game over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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The Atlanta Braves are 6-4 in their last 10, and they trail the Diamondbacks by 1.5 games. They're two back of the Mets, so this series could totally flip the NL wild-card race on its head.
Players to watch
Starting pitchers
Luis Severino (11-6, 3.79 ERA, 156 SO) vs. Spencer Schwellenbach (7-7, 3.61 ERA, 118 SO)
Severino has a 1.22 WHIP and 156 strikeouts in 178 innings pitched.
Last Start: Six innings, five hits, three earned runs, two walks and seven strikeouts.
Career vs. Braves: 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA and 20 strikeouts in four appearances.
Schwellenbach has a 1.10 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 109.2 innings pitched.
Last Start: Six innings, six hits, one earned run, two walks and five strikeouts.
Career vs. Mets: 1-0, seven innings pitched, no runs and 11 strikeouts.
Must-watch Hitters
Braves
Matt Olson is nine for his last 20. During those last six games, he has six runs, four home runs, 11 RBI and seven walks as well.
Michael Harris II is red-hot right now. The Braves outfielder has 14 hits in his last six games (31 at-bats). He has hit four home runs and a triple, scored nine runs and recorded seven RBI during that time.
Mets
Luisangel Acuna has taken baseball by storm. In just nine games played, he is hitting .379 with a 1.228 OPS. He has three homers and six RBI during that time.
Francisco Alvarez has five hits in his last 14 at-bats, and three of them have gone for home runs. Another was for a double, and he has three walks and seven RBI during that span.
Mets vs. Braves Baseball Betting Odds
Mets vs. Braves expert picks and game prediction
The pitching matchup is fairly even, though Atlanta does have a slight advantage there. The Braves also have a ton of injuries to manage right now, but the Mets also lost Francisco Lindor. This is about as evenly matched as it can get.
Since the game is at home, look for the Braves to earn a much-needed win and spark memories of the past for the Mets fans. In 2022, Atlanta swept New York to close out the year and steal the divisional crown. Can it do the same this time with the wildcard?
Run Line: -1.5
Total Runs: Over 8
Prediction: Braves 5, Mets 4
