The New York Mets continue to struggle against their great white whale, the Atlanta Braves. Entering their three game-set from Junes 6 to 8, the Mets have lost three and won just one against the Braves this season. This is indicative of a greater struggle for the Mets in 2023, as they haven't been able to carry over their 2022 regular season form into the following campaign.

And the Mets' 2023 season continues to take a turn for the worse.

Following their 13-10 loss to the Braves on Thursday night, the Mets now find themselves on the wrong end of a three-game series sweep at SunTrust Park, plunging their record to a mediocre 30-33. The Mets' 2022 season led many to believe that a great rivalry was brewing between the two NL East powerhouses, but even Brandon Nimmo has conceded that that's not even close to being the case after taking into account the Braves' excellence over the past 30 or so years.

“You could probably say that [the rivalry between the Mets and the Braves has been one-sided] over the last decade or so,” Nimmo said, per Tim Healy of Newsday Sports. “Twenty years or whatever. Take it back to the ‘90s when they were winning the East all the time. It definitely is.”

Since 1990, the Braves have won the division an incredible 19 times, including 11 consecutive times from 1995 to 2005. During that same time frame, the Mets have only finished above the Braves in the division six times. (Since 1990, the Braves have posted a 306-234 record against the Mets, per StatMuse.)

Even in 2022, when the Mets posted their second-best record in franchise history (101-61), it ended with the Braves snatching the division title from under their noses after a late-season three-game sweep.

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At the moment, the Mets are languishing at fourth in the NL East, staring at the Braves who are right on top of them once more by 8.5 games. Thus, it's not hard to see why Brandon Nimmo feels this way about the Mets and Braves' purported rivalry — for there is none.

Nevertheless, the Braves have been on the wrong end of a late-season collapse as well (cough, 2011, cough). Thus, it's not too late for the Mets to get it together.