Atlanta Braves Series Preview: New York Mets (8/20 – 8/21)

Aug 18, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) celebrates to getting the save with catcher Gerald Laird (11) in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. The Braves won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

After yet another series win (we are becoming spoiled with these), the Braves grabbed some much needed rest with an off day yesterday. Following the break, however, the team travels to New York for a quick, 2-game set with the Mets at Citi Field. Let’s take a glance forward at what’s on tap.

Tuesday, August 20th – 7:10 PM ET – Brandon Beachy vs. Zack Wheeler

Is the old Brandon Beachy back? We will get another chance to evaluate the recovering right-hander, but for the third consecutive time, it will be against a fledgling offense. In Beachy’s last two starts, he has thrown 14 combined innings while allowing only 2 earned runs against the Marlins and Phillies, and in the process, he has flashed excellent command with only 1 walk against 10 strikeouts. Beachy’s continuing evaluation is one of the storylines for the rest of the year (in the midst of the massive division lead), and if he can show that he is the same guy that was dominating pre-injury, he can earn a spot in the playoff rotation. On Tuesday, the Mets will oppose Beachy with youngster Zack Wheeler. The 23-year-old has some nice numbers in his rookie season, with a 3.43 ERA and 8.14 strikeouts per 9 innings over his first 11 starts. With that, however, his control has been fairly woeful in the early going (4.14 BB/9) and that has kept him to a 0.0 fWAR in 63 innings. Wheeler does have top-end stuff when he’s right, and this isn’t a match-up to sleep on for the admittedly hot Braves lineup. It’ll be interesting to see if the “A-Team” returns after an off-day, but the biggest daily choice from Fredi Gonzalez at this point seems to be who to plug in for center field. I believe they call that “first world problems”.

Wednesday, August 21st – 1:10 PM ET – Alex Wood vs. Jonathon Niese

In the “finale”, the Braves and Mets are playing a getaway day special at 1:10 pm, and the patrons will be treated to a solid pitching match-up. For the Mets, Jon Niese has only made 2 starts since coming off of the disabled list following a partially torn rotator cuff. Many believed that he would be done for the season because of it, but he’s been decent in the two August starts, allowing 5 runs in 12 innings. There is nothing particularly special about Niese (career 4.08 ERA, 7.38 K/9, 2.87 BB/9), but he’s a left-hander who is capable of keeping the Braves lineup down if he has it going. For the Braves, Alex Wood has been flat-out filthy in recent days. Over his last 3 starts, the left-hander has allowed only 2 runs in 18.1 innings, and Wood is now sporting a 2.61 ERA for the season. Even more impressive is his insane strikeout rate (9.93 K/9) and the fact that his FIP (1.96) is flying beneath the 2.00 mark and seemingly lowering every day. Also, the Mets will be without their best player (David Wright) for the entire series as he recovers from injury and without him, it’s a pedestrian lineup at best. It is too early to tell whether Wood is this good as a starter, but the stuff is certainly there and he’s been a God-send in the midst of the Hudson/Maholm injuries. As far as the lineup is concerned, I would expect to see a backup or two given the 1:10 pm first pitch, and this would be a good spot for the Gattis/BJ Upton types to get at-bats with the lefty on the mound.

—–

Admittedly, the win-loss results will begin to lose the same impact in the final few weeks (unless the Braves go in the tank, fingers crossed), but there is plenty to monitor as the regular season presses on. With the way the team is playing at the moment, anything worse than a split here would be shocking, and

Stay tuned for game-by-game analysis in this space as it happens!