NL East rivals will close out a crucial five-game series on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field with the Atlanta Braves visiting the New York Mets. The Mets lead the series 3-1 so far after sweeping Saturday's doubleheader including a 6-2 win in the nightcap as a -126 favorite. Atlanta still holds the top NL Wild Card spot at 64-45, while the Mets have a 5.5-game lead in the division at 69-39.
New York now holds a 7-4 head-to-head advantage in the competitive season series between NL contenders.
After fighting back to tie the Mets at the top of the NL East just a couple weeks ago, Atlanta is now staring at another big deficit in the division race and continued to struggle in this extended five-game series as it was swept in Saturday's doubleheader. While the pitching has been the main issue, Atlanta's offense was blanked through seven innings in the nightcap, and a late RBI double from Ronald Acuna Jr. followed by a solo shot off the bat of William Contreras only made the final score more respectable.
Ace Max Fried suffered a rare loss, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out five. Travis d'Arnaud recorded a pair of doubles before he was removed from the game after getting injured on a play at the plate.
Atlanta remains down on the money line despite the strong record while going 55-54 on the run line. Overs are 56 -49-4 for the Braves, with all four games in this series so far going over the betting total.
The Braves are enjoying a prolific offense, ranking fourth in baseball at 4.79 runs per game on a .757 team OPS that is also fourth-best. Atlanta pitching also ranks in the top five with a 3.62 combined ERA including a mark of 3.21 from one of baseball's top bullpens.
Austin Riley has been one of the NL's top hitters, posting a .950 OPS with 29 homers, 69 RBI and 64 runs scored. Dansby Swanson is also enjoying a career year with an .822 OPS, 15 homers, 14 steals and 71 runs scored.
Star rookie Spencer Strider will take the mound for his 24th appearance and 13th start, hoping to continue a fantastic debut campaign as he's 6-3 with a 2.79 ERA and 133 strikeouts across just 87 innings. The 23-year-old had another impressive outing on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies with 6.2 innings of one-run ball, allow ing just three hits and one walk while piling up 13 strikeouts.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies (foot surgery) is the big name on the Atlanta IL, with outfielder Adam Duvall (sprained wrist), first baseman Mike Ford (strained neck) and catcher Manny Pina (sprained wrist) also out. Starting pitcher Mike Soroka continues to recover from multiple Achillies tears. Relievers Darren O'Day (strained calf), Luke Jackson (Tommy John surgery) and Kirby Yates (Tommy John surgery) are out.