The Atlanta Braves have been dominating the New York Mets through the first three games of their weekend series.
Atlanta has scored 34 runs on 40 hits through the first three games versus the 3 runs on 18 hits by the Mets in that same time frame. Matt Olson has taken the MLB home run lead with 42 of them and the Atlanta Braves offense as a whole is on pace to break the single-season home run record.
They have now scored the most runs in all of baseball with 678 of them on the season so far. The Texas Rangers had been leading in that category for most of the season but with a huge slew of runs scored in the last few days, Atlanta has overtaken them.
The team will look to continue their impressive work and go for a 4-game sweep on Sunday evening. Yonny Chirinos will take the ball for Atlanta and hopes to improve upon his last outing which was disappointing.
He allowed 6 runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. 4 of those hits allowed were home runs and it was rough to watch. The entire month of August has been tough for Chirinos as he has an ERA of 8.10 through 10 innings of work.
Atlanta will certainly need him to do much better than that on Sunday evening if they have any hope of sweeping the Mets on National television.
The Braves offense will have the task of facing Kodai Senga who has been pretty good for the Mets all season. His ERA currently sits at 3.24 through 116.2 innings pitched for New York. Atlanta has not faced Senga yet this season so it will be interesting to see how they do against him and his famed "ghost forkball" pitch.
When you combine his ability to throw a fastball that tops out at 99 mph and an excellent forkball that drops off the table, it makes him really effective at pitching. Atlanta will have to be ready to take advantage of any mistakes Senga makes.
His last start against the Cubs lasted 6 innings and he allowed just 2 runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. The month of July was excellent for Senga who posted a 1.93 ERA in the month. August, so far, hasn't been as successful as he has a 3.86 total ERA in the month.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN tonight and I'm sure all eyes will be on this Atlanta team who is shattering records left and right. You certainly don't want to miss out on watching this team if you can help it. After tonight's game, the team will return to Atlanta as they welcome the Yankees to Truist Park.
Game Details
When and where: Citi Field in Flushing, NY at 7:10 PM EST
Watch: ESPN
Listen: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan