Braves and Mets Battle in N.L. East Pitchers Duel

The Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets have both been slumping lately. Monday night will be each teams chance to right the ship as they send their best pitchers to the mound against one another.

Johan Santana will toe the rubber for the Mets Monday. Santana isn’t quite the same pitcher that he was earlier in his career with Minnesota, but he is still one of the best pitchers in the league. He is coming off one of his worst outings of the year as he allowed 13 runs and 7 hits to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. His inconsistency has been a problem this season. Prior to the start against the Cardinals, he had allowed just 3 earned runs over 38 innings and 5 starts. He was absolutely hammered in a Sunday night game against Philadelphia back in early May for 10 runs. After that start he went the rest of the month allowing just 7 runs over 5 starts. He will need to bring his good stuff Monday as he faces a powerful Braves line-up that can score in bunches.

The Braves are holding on to a slim lead in the National League East as the Phillies are making a big move to claim the top spot. Philadelphia has won 9 of their last 11 games have are now just 2.5 games behind the Braves for the division lead. It looks like it may come down to either winning the division or going home for the playoffs in the East as the Reds and Giants are currently leading the wildcard race, and do not look like they are slowing down.

Atlanta has lost all 3 series on their 9 game road trip, and will need to get back on track in a hurry if they plan on holding their slim lead over Philly. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they take on the Mets for 3 and the Giants for a 4 game set at home. However, they will have a much softer schedule towards the end of the Month as they play the Astros, Dodgers and Nationals. Most MLB predictions had the Phillies winning this division due to a solid balance of pitching and hitting. The Braves have shown that they too have a good balance.

Their pitching staff has surpassed all expectations by baseball experts. It all starts with Tim Hudson. Hudson is 11-5 on the year with a 2.40 ERA. He has slowed down over the last few seasons, but has seemed to of found his groove in 2010. Kris Medlen, Tommy Hanson and veteran Derek Lowe are all pitching much better than anticipated this year as they have combined to go 24-19. Closer Billy Wagner has been nothing short of spectacular this year. He has a 24 saves and has struck out 64 batters in just 43 innings.

Although the Mets and Braves find themselves find themselves 6.5 games apart in the standings, they will each need to have great finishes to the season to hold off Philadelphia. It will all start Monday night as they send their Aces to the mound in what should be a closely contested ball game.

Related posts:

1. Braves take on Arrieta/ Baltimore in Interleague Battle
2. Dodgers and Braves Battle in Los Angeles: Game 2
3. Braves Trying to Send Bobby Cox Out a Winner
4. Rockies Host Cardinals in Pitchers Duel Thursday
5. Wainwright and Kershaw Square off in Pitchers Duel Wednesday Night

Comments