Mets vs. Braves prediction and odds for Thursday, June 8 (Pitching matchup may not live up to the hype)

Things are not going well for the New York Mets right now and that’s putting it lightly. The Atlanta Braves have taken the first two of this NL East series and New York has lost five in a row. The Braves are in full control of the division at 37-24 with their biggest competition, the Mets, stuck in third place and under .500, 30-32. Now, to add insult to injury, or I guess injury to insult in this case Pete Alonso is day-to-day after getting hit on the wrist with a pitch from Charlie Morton yesterday.

For the final game of this series with the chance of a sweep, Atlanta will hand the ball to their ace, Spencer Strider to make his 13th start of the year. Strider comes in at 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA and will go head-to-head with Justin Verlander. Verlander is 2-3 in six starts with a 4.25 ERA.

Let’s take a look at the odds for this NL East rivalry down in Atlanta.

Mets vs. Braves odds, run line and total

Mets vs. Braves prediction and pick

The situation has gone from bad to worse for the Mets and they will likely be without Alonso tonight. It’s unclear if he is headed to the IL, but their best hitter missing any games is a massive blow. That’ll be an especially big loss against Spencer Strider who is one of the best pitchers in the game.

May was a little bit shaky from Strider and last time out he did have four walks, but allowed just two runs over six innings. The walks are a concern, but he has 113 strikeouts in 69.2 innings. The Mets have struck out the third fewest times of any team in the league, but the last time he faced New York he fanned eight in five innings, but did allow four runs on five hits. 

Verlander on the other side hasn’t been his typically dominant self as a Met. He returned from injury in May and had two different starts where he allowed six runs over five innings in the month. His last time out he was good, but his K/9 is down to 7.5, his lowest since 2014 a year in which he finished with an ERA of 4.54. Other than his rookie season it has only been this low or lower three times and those were three of his worst seasons as a pro. 

Strider will struggle to strikeout a patient Mets lineup and JV doesn’t have swing and miss stuff this season, so despite this looking like a juicy matchup on the mound, I’m going to take the over. Last time Strider faced New York it was  a 9-8 Braves win. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change