The New York Mets head down to Georgia to take on the Atlanta Braves in a three-game set that opens on Monday night. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Mets-Braves prediction and pick.
This is set to be an exciting National League East series between two clubs that are looking to make a surge to the top of the division. New York has been playing very well with wins in seven of its last 10 games coming in. Atlanta sits at 19-21 on the season and has been showing signs of life in recent games.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the Mets-Braves odds.
MLB Odds: Mets-Braves Odds
New York Mets +1.5 (-163)
Atlanta Braves -1.5 (+143)
Over 8 Runs (-105)
Under 8 Runs (-115)
Why The Mets Could Cover The Spread
The Mets will send out tall right-hander Taijuan Walker for the opener with the Braves. Walker is coming off an impressive performance against the Baltimore Orioles in his last outing. He allowed just one earned run and struck out four batters across seven innings in a game that his club won 7-1. The Mets have won Walker's last two starts and the righty is now 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA on the season. As long as Walker can provide his club with another quality start, this bullpen is among the best in all of baseball.
However, New York has really struggled to provide consistent run support for its incredible pitching staff this season. Coming into this series, the Mets are currently 30th in runs, 30th in hits, and 29th in home runs. New York bolstered the lineup in the offseason and needs to find a way to get the bats going more consistently to support the lethal arms. Pete Alonso is currently hitting .250 with six home runs on the year. When he starts to get things going a bit more, watch out for this Mets club.
Why The Braves Could Cover The Spread
Braves left-hander Max Fried will get the nod for the series opener. Fried has had a rough go of it this season, but seems to be making strides toward returning to his normal dominant form. The Braves southpaw allowed just one run and two hits over six solid innings in his last start against the Blue Jays. He has given up just two runs over his last 11 innings of work since returning from the IL last week. Atlanta will need Fried to continue his recent success as the bullpen hasn't been great with an ERA of 4.50 coming in.
Unlike the Mets, it's actually the offensive output that has kept this club around .500 on the season. The Braves lead the league in homers with 58 and slugging percentage at .420 as a club. Ronald Acuna Jr. is expected to return to the lineup in this series after being out for a bit with a sore ankle. Acuna has looked like an early MVP favorite, hitting .302 with 12 home runs and 24 RBI through his first 35 games of the season.
Final Mets-Braves Prediction & Pick
This series should be full of exciting action as this is one of the toughest divisions in all of baseball. Winning these games in May will go a long way when three or four teams are competing for the division crown in September. I see great value in taking the Mets to win this game for a few reasons. The Braves solely depend on the long ball, but Taijuan Walker has done a phenomenal job of keeping the ball in the ball park this season. He has looked stellar in his last couple of outings and this Atlanta lineup can go cold in a hurry. Max Fried has been returning to form, but still doesn't have the control he'd like and doesn't have the bullpen behind him to work around the zone.
FINAL PICK: New York Mets ML (+137)
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