New York Mets vs Atlanta Braves: 3 bold predictions for NL East clash
By Kevin Henry
On Tuesday night, the New York Mets travel to Truist Park to take on the Atlanta Braves in what is expected to be a high-intensity start to a three-game series.
This is the second meeting of the season between the two National League East rivals, with the Atlanta Braves taking two of three games at Citi Field in a rain-delayed series in late April/early May. Now the scene shifts to Georgia, with Atlanta holding a three-game lead over the Miami Marlins in the NL East, with the New York Mets coming in in third place at 5.5 games back.
With the Mets and Braves having fewer head-to-head meetings this season thanks to MLB’s new scheduling rules, every matchup between these two teams with postseason aspirations is critical. With that in mind, let’s look into our crystal ball for what could happen in this series.
Mets vs. Braves bold prediction: Pete Alonso continues to rake on the road
When you take the Polar Bear out of the Big Apple in 2023, he’s hitting at a much higher rate, and we believe that will continue in Atlanta.
Alonso is slashing just .196/.261/.471 in 111 plate appearances at Citi Field this season while those numbers climb to .260/.372/.594 in 145 plate appearances on the road. However, in 139 career plate appearances at Truist Park, he’s slashing just .237/.345/.390.
So what gives this weekend? We think Alonso has a power-packed series, pacing the Mets at the plate by hitting over .500 for the series. Sure, that’s a tough act with the Braves expected to roll out Bryce Elder, Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider, but these are supposed to be bold predictions, right? We’re going with the Polar Bear to be red-hot for the next three games.