The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves have been extremely competitive this season, and the Braves recently swept the Mets in a series.
The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves have been extremely competitive with each other this season. Their last series against each other of the regular season ended with the Braves sweeping the Mets, which is certainly disappointing for New York, who clung to their top spot in the NL East standings until then.
New York reliever Seth Lugo shared that he wants to face them again in the playoffs and prove they’re capable of winning.
Lugo told Mike Puma of the New York Post, “I think we’re better than those guys, and I think we’ll prove it if we face them again…I would like another shot. At the same time, whoever is the opponent, you want to face the best.”
The Mets have certainly been on fire this season, but so have the Braves. Could the Mets truly defeat the defending World Series champions? Given their talent, they could but it wouldn’t be such an easy feat.
The Mets have a shot against the Braves in the postseason, but it wouldn’t be easy
New York certainly has some leverage over Atlanta and vice versa. Each lineup has completely different strengths and weaknesses that make for an interesting matchup against one another. Among the entire league, the Mets have the second-best batting average (.258) and on-base percentage (.331). They lack power, overall, with the ninth-best slugging percentage (.409).
The Braves have much more power in their lineup with the best slugging percentage (.443) and third-best OPS (.759), but their batting average (.252) and OBP (.316) are just slightly better than league average.
If they face each other in the playoffs, it’ll come down to who has the better bat during the games. Overall, the Braves have scored more runs than New York by 27, so it’s a close match.
As for pitching, Atlanta is definitely better. The Braves have the fifth-best ERA (3.42), fourth-best opponent batting average (.226) and sixth-best WHIP (1.19). The Mets trail decently behind with the eighth-best ERA (3.61), 11th-best OBA (.236) and seventh-best WHIP (1.19).
A good rotation mixed with power in the lineup could wipe the Mets out if they aren’t careful.
Both teams have high potential to make it to the World Series, so it certainly wouldn’t be an easy matchup between the two teams in the postseason. However, if the Mets played their absolute best, they could potentially pull a close win.