The Daily Sweat: The Mets need some wins to hold off hard-charging Braves
Nobody is sounding the trumpets this week.
The Atlanta Braves are on a roll and have tied the New York Mets in the NL East, setting up a pretty fun September. The Braves have won six in a row. The Mets have lost three in a row. The Mets' reasonably comfortable lead is gone. Both teams sit at 85-51.
The Mets are still -185 to win the NL East at BetMGM as of Wednesday morning. There's value on the Braves at +150. They came back to win the division last season. Then they won the World Series.
The Mets' offense has been in a slump. That's why they're in danger of losing first place in the NL East for the first time since taking the lead all the way back on April 12.
Both teams play on Wednesday afternoon, and the Mets have a doubleheader. The Mets are -250 favorites in the first game over the Pittsburgh Pirates, but maybe nothing should be assumed during this slump. Jacob deGrom is starting the second game and the Mets should be an even bigger favorite for that game. The Braves are also favorites, at -275 over the Oakland A's.
The best reason the Mets are still favored to win the division is their top-end pitching, and that could end up carrying them home to the NL East title. But the Braves have a really good roster, bolstered after last season's World Series win by some exciting rookies. They also have the momentum.
There are sure to be some nervous moments in New York over the last 26 games of the season. You knew it wouldn't be easy for the Mets.
Here's a first look at the sports betting slate on Wednesday?
Only baseball?
Well, there is some Champions League soccer. Yahoo Sportsbook's Nick Bromberg talked about that earlier this week. But other than that, it's mostly just MLB.
It's OK. We all know what's coming on Thursday night.
A big MLB slate
Due to a couple doubleheaders, we have 17 games in total. The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins are the other doubleheader on the schedule. The Yankees are favored in both games, -160 in the first game and -200 in the second.
The Twins are part of a fun race in the AL Central. They're 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians, who are -140 favorites at the Kansas City Royals. If the odds are an indication, the Guardians could lead the division by three games after Wednesday.
What's the best bet?
We'll go off the board a bit and take the Braves to win the division as the best bet. Lock that in now while you're getting a good number. There's no great reason the Braves should be +150 after tying up the NL East on Tuesday night. They're a good team with a championship pedigree now, and there's going to be a lot of pressure on the Mets.
