T.M. Selection: Atlanta Braves.

I like the Atlanta Braves to win this game against the New York Mets on Monday. The Braves have looked really hot lately, winning 3 games in a row now and 6/7 of their previous 7 games. They have cut down the lead the Mets have over them to 1.5 games now and I think they are going to be highly motivated here in this home series to take over the lead in the division. Their offense has looked really good in their games but their pitching has also been great and I expect them to shut down a Mets lineup that hasn't been producing lately. The Mets haven't looked great lately, losing 2/3 of their previous 3 games to the Marlins and they were really struggling to put up runs in those games. Max Fried (9-2, 2.52 ERA) is up for the Braves here and he has been great all year. He rarely puts up a bad start and even when he has this year, it hasn't even been that bad of a start with a majority of his starts seeing him give up 2 runs or less. I think he is going to shut down the Mets lineup here as they continue to struggle like they have in their games lately. Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.26 ERA) is up for the Mets here and he has also been great this year but this is only his 2nd start back from an injury and I expect him to be a bit off here in this road game against this division rival. He hasn't really had any bad starts this year but he has also burnt himself out already and this has been an issue for him in past seasons too. I don't think he will be able to pitch deep into this game since they only let him pitch 6 innings in his most recent start back from injury and I expect the Braves to put up some runs on the Mets bullpen here. Even if they do pitch a great game, the offense hasn't been performing well lately and I think that will be their downfall here. I like the Braves to win this game.

T.M. Prediction: 4-2 Braves.