One-fourth of the way through the season, the Braves finally will play the team perceived by many to pose the biggest threat to their three-year run of National League East championships.
The New York Mets will be at Truist Park on Monday night for the opener of a three-game series against the Braves (7:10 p.m. on Bally Sports Southeast and ESPN).
The Mets (18-16) will enter the game in first place in the division despite being swept at Tampa Bay in a weekend series. They are 1/2-game ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies (21-20) and two games ahead of the third-place Braves (19-21). The Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals (18-22 and 16-20, respectively) are essentially tied for fourth place in the five-team division, both three games out of first.
The starting-pitching matchup at Truist Park for Monday’s game will feature Braves left-hander Max Fried (1-1, 6.55 ERA) versus Mets right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-1, 2.20). The series continues with games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
The Mets, like many MLB teams, have been hard hit by injuries. Ace pitcher Jacob deGrom is on the 10-day injured list with right side tightness, and two regulars — second baseman Jeff McNeil and right fielder Michael Conforto — left Sunday’s game with hamstring injuries. Third baseman J.D. Davis and outfielder Brandon Nimmo are on the injured list with a sprained hand and bruised finger, respectively.
The Braves, who haven’t gotten their record above .500 at any point this season, won two of three games at Milwaukee over the weekend, but lost a painful one Sunday in which they trailed 8-0, cut the deficit to 8-7 with a seven-run inning and ultimately fell 10-9. It was a bad day for starting pitcher Huascar Ynoa, who previously had been excellent, and for the bullpen, which ranks 24th among the 30 MLB teams in ERA (4.95).
While not playing the Mets until their 41st game of the season, the Braves have a 10-9 record versus the NL East, including 5-1 against the Nationals, 4-5 against the Phillies and 1-3 against the Marlins.
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