Entering the 2023 season, the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets were both expected to compete for a World Series and NL East crown, but the season has not gone that way.
Atlanta is arguably the best team in baseball and fully in contention, but the Mets were sellers at the deadline and are 20.5 games back of Atlanta entering Friday’s contest.
Veteran Charlie Morton (10-10, 3.86 ERA) will look to extend the Braves’ massive lead in the NL East against Mets youngster Tylor Megill (6-5, 5.45 ERA).
Megill has a Fielding Independent Pitching of 5.24 this season, so he looks to be in trouble when taking on the No. 1 offense in baseball.
Let’s dive into the odds and how to bet on this NL East matchup:
Braves vs. Mets odds, run line and total
Braves vs. Mets prediction and pick
I can’t back this New York team with Megill on the mound, especially since the team’s offense has been brutal over the last 15 days.
New York is 23rd in OPS over that stretch, and now it has a pitcher on the mound that has a 5.45 ERA on the season and gave up five earned runs and nine hits in 4.2 innings of work in his first August start.
The Braves should jump all over Megill on Friday.
Morton isn’t pitching his best right now, posting a 7.32 ERA in his last four starts, but his body of work all season has been far better than Megill.
That, and the weaker Mets offense gives me confidence that Morton can keep the team in check for the Braves to win and cover tonight.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.