For the second time in a little over a week, the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves will resume their NL East rivalry with a three-game set at Truist Park that starts on Tuesday. The two teams split a four-game series last week at Citi Field.

The Mets begin their final road trip before the All-Star break in Atlanta then play the New York Yankees in the Bronx when finished down south. The Amazins’ will them come home and face the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates, a seven-game stand, before the break.

The Braves are one of only two charter franchises left in the National League with the Chicago Cubs the other. Atlanta calls itself the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in America, founded in Boston, Mass. in 1871. They have just over 10,000 wins and 10,000 losses in their history. They landed in Atlanta in 1966 and have played there ever since.

But to describe the 2021 version of this proud franchise becomes hard, an enigma if you will. Picked by many to rule the NL East from start to finish, the Braves have languished in the middle of the pack, owning a stumbling mark of 37-40, 4.5 games behind the first place Mets. They have certainly had their share of injuries and an evolving off-field problem to slow them down, but it is their inconsistent play that has kept them below the .500 level. Their 12-14 record in June further speaks of the mediocrity of this Atlanta team.

The Braves feature stars such as Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Freddie Freeman and have a young, athletic nucleus. Acuna leads the team in most all offensive categories including batting average (.282.), runs (61), home runs (21) and RBIs (47). Heck, for good measure, he also leads his team in stolen bases with 16. As a team, the Braves are eighth in the NL in batting with a collective .234 BA.

Charlie Morton leads Braves’ pitchers in wins with 7 and strikeouts with 93. He has a 1.14 WHIP. Closer Will Smith has 16 saves, while Ian Anderson leads his team with a 3.42 ERA. As a team, the Bravos are 10th in the National League with a 4.30 ERA.

Defensively, the Braves have committed 40 errors in 77 games good for a .985 fielding percentage. That places them fourth in the NL.

The Atlanta Braves are managed by 65-year old Brian Snitker. Snitker took the helm on an interim basis on May 17, 2016 before gaining the job in earnest five months later. He was the NL Manager of the Year in 2018. On February 26, 2021, Snitker signed an extension to remain with the Braves through the 2023 season with a club option for 2024.

The New York Mets, with their loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday, enter the Braves series with a record of 40-34 and a three game lead in the NL East. As the oft injured roster is finally getting healthy, the Mets bats are not. The recently completed Phillies’ series was an exercise in futility especially in the first six innings in each of the four games. The Mets did not hold a lead and were awful with RISP throughout the set.

They are now 14-14 in June and are treading water. Manager Luis Rojas seems unconcerned about the lack of clutch hitting. The Mets rank 12th in the NL in batting with a .228 team BA.

Lately, the defense has let them down as well, throwing the ball over the field with 6 errors in their last 8 games. After three more errors against the Nationals, the Mets now rank seventh in the NL in team defense with 42 errors in 74 games played.

Lastly, the bright spot, the pitching. The Amazin’s lead the NL with a 3.04 ERA. Lead by the out-worldly Jacob deGrom, the Mets pitching has kept them in games they hardly deserved to be in. With Marcus Stroman on the bereavement list, and two other starting pitchers injured, let’s hope the wonderful pitching holds until the bats finally wake up.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021: RHP Tylor Megill  (0-0, 4,15 ERA) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (7-3, 3.68 ERA)

Tylor Megill debuted for the Mets on June 23 against these very same Braves and made a good accounting of himself. At times his stuff was excellent. He went 4.1 innings allowing only two earned runs while striking out four.

Deserving of a second start, it will be interesting to see how the youngster fares against a team whose batters have seen him already.

Charlie Morton has won five of his last six starts including a 3-0 victory over the Mets on June 22. In that game, he threw seven innings of one-hit ball. He kept the Mets off-balance for most of the game, striking out 11 while only walking two. On his best day, Morton is a tough customer.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021: LHP David Peterson (2-5, 4.95 ERA) vs. LHP Max Fried (4-4, 4.21 ERA)

David Peterson has had three consecutive very good starts. In those outings, he has allowed a total of two ERs. His ERA, once as high as 6.32 on June 8 stands now at 4.95. He’ll need to continue his steady pitching to be victorious here.

Max Fried has had his ups and downs. 3-3 in his last six starts, Fried can be brilliant at times as he was his May when he allowed only four earned runs for the entire month in four outings. In his last four starts, Fried has given up nine ERs but always seems to keep his team in the game. He has lost once to the Mets this year, on May 17.

Thursday, July 1, 2021: RHP Jacob deGrom (7-2, 0.69 ERA) vs LHP Drew Smyly (5-3, 4.79 ERA)

What can you say about Jacob deGrom that hasn’t been said already? The front-runner for the NL Cy Young and likely MVP, has been fabulous since his first pitch of 2021. Jake has won his last five decisions and the Mets have won in each of his last eight starts. Truly a mercurial wonder, deGrom games are must see, as it is unlikely any of us we’ll see the like again in our lifetimes.

Drew Smyly is pitching better lately. He is riding a three-game winning streak and is poised to give deGrom a run for his money. Smyly has not faced the Mets this year.

Prediction

Well, a handicapper could peruse this series and come-up with something elementary like Morton takes one, deGrom takes game three and the fates will determine game two. Baseball, and gambling for that matter, are not quite so simple. Where these predictions are just for fun, the series does seem to be set-up for one team taking two out of three. Atlanta is home, the pitching match-ups are largely a wash, and the Mets can’t hit a beachball. So with that all said, let’s look for the Mets to surprise the Braves here and grab the deuce and the series win.