Atlanta Braves Begin Series At NY Mets
The Atlanta Braves will look to increase their lead in the NL wild card race when they visit the New York Mets for the opening game of a three-game series this Friday night.
Friday night’s game will be played at Citi Field, and is set to start at 4:10 p.m. (PT). Right-handers Tim Hudson and R.A. Dickey will be on the mound.
Due to Philadelphia’s dominance in the NL East, the best these two teams can realistically hope for is the wild card berth. Atlanta currently holds a 2.5-game lead over Arizona for the spot, while New York trails Atlanta by eight games.
The Braves (64-48) have lost three of their last four, including dropping two of three to the Washington Nationals to kick off this nine-game road trip. Atlanta has scored three runs or less in each of their last 12 losses, and needs to get their offense going more consistently to help out their outstanding staff and bullpen.
Hudson (10-7, 3.31 ERA) is one member of that outstanding staff, and has pitched very well of late. In his last 10 starts, Hudson is 6-2 with a 2.34 ERA. He hasn’t given up more than three runs in any of those games.
Despite decent numbers against the Mets over the course of his career (13-8, 3.66 ERA), New York has been a problem team for Hudson in 2011. In Hudson’s two starts against the Mets this season, Atlanta lost both times as the MLB betting favorite with Hudson lasting just four innings in each of those starts.
New York (55-55) won three straight games (+3.70 units) after trading Carlos Beltran, scoring eight or more runs in each of them, and had the look of a team believing in themselves. Since then, they’ve lost four straight (-4.60 units), and didn’t manage more than three runs of offense in any of those games.
Dickey (5-9, 3.77 ERA) hasn’t had as sharp of a season as he did in 2010, but he’s generally pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance to win. Despite a personal record of just 1-2 over his last eight starts, New York is 6-2 (+4.70 units) in Dickey’s last eight trips to the mound.
Dickey outdueled Hudson as the small underdog on June 5 to pick up the win with eight strong innings, but lost his last start against Atlanta as a +125 underdog on Jun 16, giving up four earned runs in four innings.
The Mets hold a slight lead in the season series of 5-4. The ‘under’ is 5-3-1 over those nine games.
Atlanta is 30-26 on the road (+3.21 units), while New York is 22-28 at home (-9.91 units).
Atlanta will be without catcher Brian McCann (back injury), and third baseman Chipper Jones is questionable.
Weather reports indicate a sunny day with winds of up to 8 mph. Tommy Hanson and Jonathon Niese are projected to take the mound on Saturday.
The Atlanta Braves will look to increase their lead in the NL wild card race when they visit the New York Mets for the opening game of a three-game series this Friday night.
Friday night’s game will be played at Citi Field, and is set to start at 4:10 p.m. (PT). Right-handers Tim Hudson and R.A. Dickey will be on the mound.
Due to Philadelphia’s dominance in the NL East, the best these two teams can realistically hope for is the wild card berth. Atlanta currently holds a 2.5-game lead over Arizona for the spot, while New York trails Atlanta by eight games.
The Braves (64-48) have lost three of their last four, including dropping two of three to the Washington Nationals to kick off this nine-game road trip. Atlanta has scored three runs or less in each of their last 12 losses, and needs to get their offense going more consistently to help out their outstanding staff and bullpen.
Hudson (10-7, 3.31 ERA) is one member of that outstanding staff, and has pitched very well of late. In his last 10 starts, Hudson is 6-2 with a 2.34 ERA. He hasn’t given up more than three runs in any of those games.
Despite decent numbers against the Mets over the course of his career (13-8, 3.66 ERA), New York has been a problem team for Hudson in 2011. In Hudson’s two starts against the Mets this season, Atlanta lost both times as the MLB betting favorite with Hudson lasting just four innings in each of those starts.
New York (55-55) won three straight games (+3.70 units) after trading Carlos Beltran, scoring eight or more runs in each of them, and had the look of a team believing in themselves. Since then, they’ve lost four straight (-4.60 units), and didn’t manage more than three runs of offense in any of those games.
Dickey (5-9, 3.77 ERA) hasn’t had as sharp of a season as he did in 2010, but he’s generally pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance to win. Despite a personal record of just 1-2 over his last eight starts, New York is 6-2 (+4.70 units) in Dickey’s last eight trips to the mound.
Dickey outdueled Hudson as the small underdog on June 5 to pick up the win with eight strong innings, but lost his last start against Atlanta as a +125 underdog on Jun 16, giving up four earned runs in four innings.
The Mets hold a slight lead in the season series of 5-4. The ‘under’ is 5-3-1 over those nine games.
Atlanta is 30-26 on the road (+3.21 units), while New York is 22-28 at home (-9.91 units).
Atlanta will be without catcher Brian McCann (back injury), and third baseman Chipper Jones is questionable.
Weather reports indicate a sunny day with winds of up to 8 mph. Tommy Hanson and Jonathon Niese are projected to take the mound on Saturday.