The two best teams in the NL East will square off when the Atlanta Braves visit Citi Field to take on the New York Mets for a five-game series.
The Braves trail the Mets by 3.5 games for the top spot in the division, a gap that got wider after dropping a key game to the Phillies, while the Mets took the Nationals down. Needless to say, both teams will approach this stretch as a postseason series.
The Braves were one of the most aggressive teams at the trade deadline. They bolstered their pitching staff with the additions of Jake Odorizzi and Raisel Iglesias and looked to revamp their struggling outfield by trading for Robbie Grossman.
The reigning World Series champions have won 40 of their past 55 games and are getting hot at the right time, but the Mets continue to be the biggest hurdle they need to get by to find the promised land again.
Likewise, the Mets are riding a hot streak of their own. Winners of eight of the past nine, the Mets didn't feel an urgent need to make big moves at the deadline, hoping Jacob deGrom's return would be enough to get them over the top.
They brought in Darin Ruf and Daniel Vogelbach to solve their issues at the DH spot and traded for Mychal Givens to fix their ever-struggling bullpen, but were rather passive in terms of looking for another star.
For the Atlanta Braves, Ozzie Albies will continue to be on the shelf, along with Mike Ford and Kirby Yates. The Mets, on the other hand, will face this matchup without Dominic Smith and James McCann.
When it comes to trends, it's worth noting that the Mets are 9-1 in their last 10 Thursday games, 8-1 in their last nine overall, 6-1 in their last 7 games following a win, 6-1 in their last 7 games vs. a right-handed starter, and 25-6 in their last 31 during game 1 of a series.
The Mets will send Carlos Carrasco to the mound, and he's been quite successful against the Braves over his career. He's 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three games (two starts) against the divisional rivals and shut them down in 8 innings this season.
The Braves will counter with Kyle Wright, who's 13-4 with a 2.93 ERA for the season but is 1-3 with a 6.17 ERA in six games (five starts) against the Mets, including a loss earlier in the campaign.
This game will be close as both teams will face it like a postseason matchup, but the pitching edge and momentum are on the Mets' side, so they should be the team to go with tonight.
