Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets preview: Ervin Santana vs. Jacob deGrom

The Atlanta Braves are technically “alive” in the Wild Card race, with a seven-game deficit with eight games to play, but at this point, optimism is tough to summon. However, the team will be looking to avoid an embarrassing home sweep on Sunday afternoon, and here is a deeper look at what to expect from the pitching battle.

The Pitching Match-up:

It has been a nice season for Ervin Santana, even if he couldn’t act as the savior that the team needed. The 31-year-old has posted a 3.74 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP for the season, and in his last outing, Santana allowed just two earned runs over six innings despite losing to the Nationals. New York’s offense certainly isn’t as dangerous as that of Washington’s unit, and Santana has put together a 2.05 ERA over three starts against the Mets this season. That is encouraging, if nothing else.

On the other side of things, Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom is a legitimate candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year award after what has been a big-time year, and his numbers tell the story. The young right-hander has cruised to a 2.68 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP over 134.1 innings, and with the way the Braves have been performing (or not performing) offensively, it would be aggressive to project any sort of success against the red-hot deGrom.

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The Particulars:

Date: September 21, 2014

Start Time: 1:35 pm ET

TV Channel: Fox Sports South

Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates

Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)

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The Predictions:

Before we offer our predictions for today, here’s a look at our records to this point:

• Carlos: 19-13
• Brad: 12-20

We are in agreement again on Sunday, but on the negative side, we’re both taking deGrom and the Mets. There is little to be excited about on the Atlanta side, and all hope is virtually lost.

Please feel free to sound off in the comments with your predictions for the game and feel free to rub it in our faces when you beat us on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog).