Atlanta Braves (60-53) +110, o/u 8 at New York Mets (63-49), 7:10 pm Eastern Wednesday, ESPN
by Predictem.com Staff
The Atlanta Braves get a chance to inch a little closer to the team they're chasing in the National League East when they take on the New York Mets in the second game of a three-game series at Shea Stadium Wednesday night.
Atlanta won the series opener Tuesday night 7-3, pulling within 3 ½ games of first-place New York in the NL East. The Braves also trail the San Diego Padres by just a game and a half in the NL wild-card race.
Atlanta has won three games in a row and six of its last eight, scoring 70 runs in that span.
The Braves are 29-25 on the road this season, while the Mets are 30-24 at home.
Atlanta leads the season series with New York seven games to three, with the o/u going 5-4-1 in those games.
Wednesday's bout features a great pitching match-up, with John Smoltz (10-6, 3.04) going for the Braves and Orlando Hernandez (7-4, 3.00) hurling for the Mets. Smoltz has started seven games vs. New York over the last two seasons, allowing 15 ER and 64 baserunners (hits + walks) over 45 2/3 innings pitched. Hernandez has started three games vs. the Braves this year and last, holding ATL to just one ER and 17 baserunners in 19 innings of work.
Atlanta is 12-9 in Smoltz's starts this year, the o/u 9-12, while the Mets are 12-6 in Hernandez' starts this season, the o/u 6-11.
The Braves own a .343 team OBP this season, which ranks as seventh-best in the majors, and are averaging 5.0 runs per game.
New York owns a .336 team OBP, 11th-best in the league, and is averaging 4.7 RPG.
The Atlanta bullpen has allowed 11 ER and 27 baserunners in its last 24 1/3 innings pitched.
The Mets bullpen has given up just three ER and 22 base-runners in its last 18 1/3 innings of work.
New York OF Carlos Beltran remains on the DL with an oblique strain.
The o/u is 63-46 in Braves games this year, and their last eight games have all gone over their totals. The o/u is also 50-56 in Mets games this season, and 24-28 in games played at Shea Stadium.
The Predictem Pick: Over 8 runs.
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