NY Mets at Atlanta Braves: Nolan McLean’s next test

New York Mets pitching prospect Nolan McLean didn’t have a perfect MLB debut last weekend, but still held his own over the Mariners on August 16. In 5.1 innings, the 24-year-old held Seattle scoreless on two hits, walking four and striking out eight.

And on Friday night, McLean gets another big test as his Mets struggle to hold the last spot in the NL Wild Card race. New York continues to struggle and now trails Philadelphia by seven games in the NL East. In the Wild Card, the Terry Francona-led Cincinnati Reds are only a half-game behind them for the third and final spot.

This means that the Mets must take this weekend series against another NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves. Hot-lanta is fourth in the NL East and basically out of the playoff race, but the team is 8-2 in its last ten games.

Oh, and the Braves have already won the season series, including a three-game sweep at Truist Park in June.

Time: 7:15 pm ET

TV: Apple TV+

Betting Line: Mets -1.5 (-115), O/U 8.5

Key Storyline: Can McLean rally Mets out of their slump? We’re at the point of the baseball season where the Mets are, well, no offense to Mets fans but, the Mets. The lineup’s streakiness is catching up with it. The pitching staff, as we’ve discussed all season, is running out of gas.

Enter McLean who, at least through one start, proved to be quite the shot in the arm. Seattle isn’t exactly an elite squad, but McLean showed poise and confidence on the mound despite the walks. He’ll need that to follow him on the road when he faces a stacked Atlanta lineup. albeit one that just lost Austin Riley for the season.

Pitching Matchup: Nolan McLean (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Joey Wentz (4-3, 4.72 ERA). One thing is certain, McLean must show better control against Atlanta. He fed the Mariners a steady diet of sweepers, sinkers, and curveballs in his debut, with only nine fastballs thrown. That doesn’t mean abandon the breaking pitches entirely, but he could be in for a long night if he’s hanging pitches and hasn’t established his fastball. Especially since it averaged 95.5 mph against Seattle.

On Atlanta’s side, lefty Joey Wentz has a 2.60 ERA since coming over from the Twins in a trade last month. This could work to Atlanta’s advantage, as the Mets are only batting .227 with 34 homers against lefties on the year.

X-Factor: Juan Soto. By the numbers, Juan Soto is still having a pretty good season despite overall down numbers. Batting .247 with 31 home runs, 72 RBI, and a career-best 20 steals has yielded a 144 wRC+. Not at all bad considering his slow start to the season, except Soto has slowed down in August. He has an .881 OPS thanks to taking his walks, but is only batting .239. His team needs him to get hot along with Francisco Lindor (.356 BA in August) to start climbing the standings.

And what better time than this weekend? Soto is a .320 career hitter against the Braves and .324 at Truist Park in particular.

Prediction: We previously mentioned the Braves are running hot, 8-2 in their last ten games. Taking that into consideration, along with the pitching matchup, I’m saying advantage Atlanta. McLean could employ a different strategy, but the truth of the matter is he seems to lean a lot on his breaking pitches. Atlanta’s powerful lineup could feast if his stuff is off.

Thus, if you’re on New York sports betting apps or New Jersey online casinos, keep it simple. Bet the Braves, the over, and hitting parlays for Soto and Lindor. Braves defeat Mets, 8-3.

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