The Atlanta Braves will begin a four-game series with the New York Mets at Citi Field. We are in Queens, sharing our MLB odds series, making a Braves-Mets prediction and pick while showing you how to watch.

The Braves will come into this series with a record of 72-41 and are the best team in baseball. Recently, they earned a split in a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It concluded a road trip where they went 3-4. Moreover, they are currently 5-5 in August.

The Mets will enter the series with a record of 52-62 and are already looking for next season. However, they are coming off a series where they took two of three from the Chicago Cubs. But the Mets are 3-7 over 10 games.

The Braves are 5-1 against the Mets this season. Additionally, they are 15-10 over the past 25 games against their divisional rivals and 25-19 over the last 44. The Braves also are 2-1 against the Mets at Citi Field this season. Conversely, the Braves went 3-6 last year against the Mets at Citi Field.

Charlie Morton will make the start for the Braves and comes in with a record of 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA. Now, he will look to bounce back after struggling in his last outing, where he went 4 1/3 innings while allowing five earned runs and four hits while striking out four but walking four. Tylor Megill will start for the Mets and comes in with a record of 6-5 with a 5.45 ERA. Today, he also will look to improve after he lasted 4 2/3 innings while allowing five earned runs on nine hits.

Here are the Braves-Mets MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Braves-Mets Odds

Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (-118)

New York Mets: +1.5 (-102)

Over: 9.5 (-115)

Under: 9.5 (-105)

How To Watch Braves vs. Mets

TV: SportsNet New York and Bally Sports Southeast

Stream: MLB TV and MLB Extra Innings

Time: 7:11 PM ET/4:11 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Braves Could Cover The Spread

The Braves have been the best team in baseball this season, and they have destroyed the baseball in every way possible. Significantly, they come into this series as the best team in batting average, on-base percentage, home runs, and slugging percentage. The Braves also rank third in runs. Therefore, they have some of the best pure hitters in the game.

Matt Olson is batting .265 with 39 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 86 runs. Meanwhile, Ozzie Albies is hitting .263 with 26 home runs, 82 RBIs, and 71 runs. Austin Riley is batting .277 with 26 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 80 runs. Likewise, Ronald Acuna is hitting .340 with 26 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 101 runs. Sean Murphy is batting .274 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 49 runs.

But the Braves have also had excellent pitching. Significantly, they are ninth in team ERA. But the numbers have slipped in recent weeks as they were top-5 at the All-Star Break. Now, they look to bounce back and need to have a good series.

The Braves will cover the spread if their bats remain hot. Additionally, Morton must bounce back.

Why The Mets Could Cover The Spread

The Mets came into the season with so much hope. Then, the season happened and everything fell apart. The Mets do not have much of an offense as they are 24th in batting average, 18th in on-base percentage, 19th in runs, 11th in home runs, and 20th in slugging percentage. Thus, they constantly struggle at the plate and are not producing anything worthwhile, despite having some good hitters.

Pete Alonso is batting .227 with 35 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 64 runs. Meanwhile, Jeff McNeil is hitting .253 with five home runs, 38 RBIs, and 51 runs. Francisco Lindon is batting .246 with 22 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 72 runs. Likewise, Francisco Alvarez is hitting .231 with 21 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 41 runs. The Mets would survive if they had good pitching. Unfortunately, their pitching has also struggled.

The Mets rank 19th in team ERA, 21st in batting average against, and 21st in walks plus hits per inning. Ultimately, they even struggled on the mound when they had Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Things have not been smooth for the Mets. Now, they hope to change their fortunes against the best team in baseball.

The Mets will cover the spread if they can get some offense early. Then, they need Megill to pitch well.

Final Braves-Mets Prediction & Pick

The Braves are significantly better than their divisional rivals. Therefore, it is difficult to see the Mets doing anything unless they get some offense early. The Mets also need to not make mistakes against this powerful lineup. Sadly, this is unlikely to happen. The Braves will cover the spread.

Final Braves-Mets Prediction & Pick: Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (-118)