The NL East could be a lot closer after this weekend or New York could crack open their lead as the 1st place Mets and 2nd place Braves square off for a five game series at Citi Field. These two combatants are going to get very familiar with each other over the next four days, but New York is a -122 favorite in the opener.
Atlanta has some value at +104 in the August 4th Braves at Mets betting matchup considering they were 39-14 in June and July. The Braves are just 3-4 in the head to head series this season, which includes a 4-game split at Citi Field way back in early May.
Braves Look to Pick Things Back Up
Atlanta may have been caught looking ahead to this series when they suffered a 3-1 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday as a -133 favorite. That snapped a 4-game win streak for the Braves, whose offense sputtered following a 13-1 rout of Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Despite a 21-6 June and going 18-8 in July the Braves are still 3.5 GB from the Mets in the division. A quarter of Atlanta’s losses last month came when they dropped two of three to New York at home in a series from July 11th-13th.
Kyle Wright (13-4, 2.93 ERA) tries to get the series off on the right foot for Atlanta as he makes his third start since the All-Star break on Thursday night. Wright has been consistent the last two, giving up 2 ER to both the Angels and Diamondbacks as Atlanta has won his last seven starts and 10 of the previous 11 overall.
Mets Try to Increase Their Gap
New York can do some real damage this weekend as they hope to add to their 3.5 game lead in the NL East. The Mets have won 8 of their last 9 overall as well as 20 of their last 29 at Citi Field.
New York is starting to get healthy, especially with Jacob deGrom returning to the rotation on Tuesday night with 5.0 IP of 1-run ball. The Mets actually ended up losing that game 5-1 to the Nationals though as -351 favorites. Max Scherzer pitched on Monday and picked up the win, and he’ll throw in one of the doubleheader games Saturday while deGrom likely pitches in the finale on Sunday.
First things first it’s Carlos Carrasco (11-4, 3.79 ERA) on the mound in the August 4th Braves at Mets betting matchup. The right-hander hasn’t allowed a run in three straight starts and held Atlanta scoreless over 8.0 IP in his only meeting with them this season.
Free August 4th Braves at Mets Betting Pick
58% of the betting public likes Atlanta at the +104 instead of paying -122 for the Mets in what very well could be a toss-up game. Both Carrasco and Wright have been dynamic lately, and it looks like the best play here might be on under 8.
For the side you have to give the Mets a small edge at home. This is the first time back at Citi Field for New York since a two game sweep of the Yankees on July 26th-27th, and there should be an atmosphere that almost resembles a playoff series on Thursday night.
Free Pick: Under 8
Free Pick: Mets -122
