(32-41  -15.18 units)

Mets/Braves:

The New York Mets will be looking for a better series after dropping 1-3 against the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend. One problem though. They are coming into Atlanta to face arguably the hottest team in baseball.

The Atlanta Braves have surged to first place in what was seen to be a very competitive division right from the start, and have done so by staying in impeccable rhythm, winning 9 of their last 10 and 12 of their last 15 games. The Braves have had a relentless barrel of offense, including yesterday’s 15-1 destruction of three Phillies starters.

Today, the Braves will square off against Zack Wheeler, who not only does Freddie Freeman hit very well, but so do many players lately. Zack Wheeler is known for his high endurance and high velocity ability, but has had a bit of a longball problem lately. He has given up 10 homeruns in his last 6 starts, but has been generally good at keeping the game under control. Wheeler is also a great rebound pitcher, as he has followed up every bad game with a quality start this season, including a rebound situation in Atlanta at the start of the season. He is currently in another one after coming off a rough start where he gave up 5 ER against the Yankees.

At glance, it appears as though Atlanta has the edge in every aspect. They have clearly been the hotter team on offense. They have the better record overall. They are at home. On top of that, they have the better statistical pitcher coming into this one.

Mike Soroka has turned heads all around the Majors, as he currently holds an astonishing 1.92 ERA through 11 starts this season, which is far beyond most expectations.

Get this. Out of all 11 starts this season so far, 9 of them so no more than 1 ER on his part. While this is absolutely stellar, let’s keep in mind that this is also not sustainable.

While Soroka has been dominant beyond impression, he also operates on a simple tight arsenal that relies heavily on location. However, good rhythm with this style can allow these type of pitchers to have extended streaks where batters just cannot solve them. Also however, when the run ends, it usually results in some very rough starts for at least a temporary stretch.

Soroka had the worst outing of his season last start, where he gave 5 ER on 10 hits to the Pittsburgh Pirates. This can be enough to really shake him out of rhythm, as the Canadian has shown signs of weakness having his two worst starts in his past three games.

The Mets are an experienced enough team to expose a vulnerable pitcher, and I think that is exactly what will happen in game one.

While the Braves have been red hot on offense, their pitching shortcomings have been masked by the wins, as they have actually given up 45 runs in their last 8 games.

If Zack Wheeler can flex his veteran ability and keep the Braves bats at Bay today, this could be New York’s chance to give Atlanta a taste of their own medicine as of late.

Mets moneyline +140  1.5*