Monday’s MLB schedule is highlighted by a massive game in the NL East between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. At home, the Braves are slight favorites with a moneyline of -120 compared to the Mets at +100. The game also has an over/under of just seven runs.
The Mets head into this series still clinging to first place in the NL East, although their lead is down to 1.5 games. While they are 6-4 in July, the Mets ended June by losing six of their last nine games. Nevertheless, they still have the second-most wins in the National League.
Meanwhile, the Braves got back into the NL East race in June and have stayed hot in July. Atlanta swept the Nationals over the weekend, improving to 8-2 in July. That has the Braves within a game and a half of the Mets with a 5.5-game cushion in the Wild Card race.
Max to the Max
Max Fried will get the start for Atlanta in Monday’s series opener. The southpaw has made 17 starts this year, going 9-2 with a 2.52 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He’s allowed two runs or less in eight of his last nine starts, with the Braves winning all nine of those starts.
Of course, one could argue that Atlanta’s offense has cooled down in recent days outside of a 12-run outburst against the Nats on Friday. The Braves have scored four runs or less in six of their last nine games and three runs or less in three of their last eight games.
Both Austin Riley and Atlanta’s catching duo of Travis d’Arnaud and William Contreras are red-hot right now, although Ronald Acuna is in a slump while Ozzie Albies is still on the IL.
Mad Max
The Mets will counter Atlanta’s ace with their own, as Max Scherzer makes his 10th start of the season. In his first nine starts, Scherzer is 5-1 with a 2.26 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.
After spending more than a month on the IL, Scherzer returned from injury in his last start, firing six scoreless innings against the Reds, allowing just two hits and striking out 11.
On the other hand, the Mets managed to score just seven runs over their last three games and have been held to four runs or less in six of their last ten games.
On the bright side, the Mets have three all-stars in their lineup, not including Francisco Lindor, who has 15 home runs and 60 RBIs in his first 85 games of the season, including three homers in his last seven games.
However, outside of Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte, large chunks of the New York lineup are in the midst of a slump.
Max Battle
Clearly, this game is a tossup, with both teams sending their ace to the mound. Historically, New York’s hitters have had a little more success against Fried than the current crop of Braves have had against Scherzer.
With the Mets being the underdog, they have a little more value in this matchup.
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