The Mets were supposed to contend with Washington for NL East supremacy but instead are currently neck and neck with Atlanta down in the pits of the division early this season.
And on the mound for the Mets tonight is Blake Wheeler, who’s having quite a shaky start also. Wheeler is 1-2 with a 4.78 ERA in five starts this year. In his last start, he threw 96 pitches in just 4.2 innings, surrendering one earned run on five hits and striking out four but issued four free passes. Hopefully for the Mets, Wheeler will just be as good as when he last pitched in Atlanta, albeit in old Turner Field, back in 2014. Wheeler tossed five scoreless innings and fanned seven in a 5-0 game Sept. 19 of that year.
Jay Bruce is also looking to have a good day later tonight. He’s 11-for-51 (.216) with a homer in the past against Atlanta starter Jaime Garcia.
Jamie Garcia of the Braves is looking to continue a positive trend after getting his first win of the season last Apr. 19, when he allowed just two earned runs on three hits across six innings of an 11-3 road victory over Milwaukee.
Garcia’s having a decent season so far. He is 1-1 with a 3.99 ERA, allowing just two earned runs or fewer in each of last three starts. He’s made only one start at home this year to date and that was in a 5-4 win over San Diego on Apr. 17, giving up two earned runs on five hits.
Atlanta’s offense, meanwhile, is getting a tremendous boost from Freddie Freeman, who’s making an early case for MVP. Freeman is slashing .378/.491/.811 with 10 home runs and 16 RBI’s as of this writing. He’s been money against Zack Wheeler in his career, going 7-for-14 with a pair of doubles opposite the Mets’ righty.
