According to the New York Post’s Mike Puma, the New York Mets will open their 2020 season in much the same way they ended their 2019 campaign—against the defending NL East Champion Atlanta Braves.
The game will take place on July 24 and will be played at Citi Field. It is the sixth time in franchise history the Mets will face the Braves on Opening Day with New York winning four of the previous five contests. The two teams last played an opener on April 3, 2017 with the Mets, as is their custom on Opening Day, winning 6-0.
The full 2020 schedule will be announced officially on Monday according to USA Today.
The expectation is that the Mets will play 40 games against their divisional rivals, and 20 games against the AL East, in an effort to minimize travel and the potential spread of the coronavirus.
The Braves are coming off a 97-win season, winning the NL East for the second consecutive year. They lost in Division Series round to the St. Louis Cardinals as another NL East team, the Washington Nationals, came from the wild-card spot to win the World Series.
The Braves are also fighting the coronavirus as four players on the team have tested positive. Manager Brian Snitker told reporters on Saturday that Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Touki Toussiant and Pete Kozma all tested positive. Freeman is dealing with the worst of it.
“He’s running a fever,” Snitker said. “Talked to him this morning. He’s not feeling great. So it’ll be a while before we can get him back.”
Freeman, a long-time Met killer, has 27 homers and 107 RBIs in ten years against the Amazins’.
The Mets will be looking to improve on their 38-20 (.655) Opening Day record which is the best in the majors.
To get ready for the Opener, here’s a review of some Mets Magic:
What other way for Mets to end the season than a walk-off three-run homer in the 11th by Dom Smith
(via @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/EevCZRONfe
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) September 29, 2019
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