Step right up and meet the NL-leading New York Mets! The Mets have been one of the biggest surprises in the first few weeks of the season, rocketing up the standings with an eight-game winning streak. But with injuries to key players piling up, can the Mets keep up their hot start against the equally surprising Atlanta Braves? Read on for our preview below.
Turn your attention to our previews of Tuesday’s other top MLB action, with the Dodgers vs. Giants and the A’s vs. Angels
The Atlanta Braves have cooled off a bit since starting the regular season 5-0, which included two wins in a three-game set against the red-hot Mets. The Braves are just 3-4 in their last seven games, but they did win two out of three in their latest series against the Toronto Blue Jays up in Canada.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Their offense was very frisky, putting up at least five runs and eight hits in all three games. Nick Markakis has been an on-base machine to begin the season. He went 7-of-10 in the series, and is fourth in the NL with a .479 on-base percentage.
The Braves’ trademark pitching hasn’t been quite up to par, though. The Braves starters are down in 14th in ERA (4.10). Trevor Cahill didn’t help with four earned runs in just 2.1 innings in his first start of the season against Miami.
Cahill, who was acquired in the offseason from the Arizona Diamondbacks, wasn’t too great as a starter last season, either. He made it past the sixth inning once in his last seven starts and gave up over four runs per start as the D-Backs went 1-6 in those seven games.
The New York Mets were expected to pitch very well this season, and so far, they’ve lived up to those expectations. The Mets’ rotation is fifth in baseball with a 2.84 ERA, and has been a big reason for their impressive eight-game winning run.
Jonathon Niese has been a very solid part of that rotation, with just two earned runs in 11.1 innings. Niese was a no-decision in his first start of the season, a 5-3 loss against the Braves. He went five innings and gave up just one earned run.
The Mets have also been impressive at the plate, scoring 5.13 runs per game during their eight-game win streak. Offseason free agent signing Michael Cuddyer has been on fire with a .440 average during that stretch, and is on a seven-game hitting streak.
But the Mets could struggle to score some runs with two of their top bats out against the Braves. The Mets’ lineup, which is already without David Wright with a hamstring injury, will also be missing catcher Travis D’Arnaud (.317/.356/.551 with two HRs and a team-high 10 RBIs). D’Arnaud broke his right hand and will miss the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ bullpen is quickly losing arms after Jerry Blevins (broken arm) joined Jenrry Mejia (80-game drug suspension) and Vic Black (shoulder injury) in the list of casualties.
