3 reasons why the Mets should be more confident than the Braves

The New York Mets are beginning to hopefully pull away from the Atlanta Braves in the National League East race that has had all of baseball watching over these past few weeks. And even if the Mets hang on and win the division, there are still more reasons to trust the Mets more than the Braves beyond the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.

1) The Mets have the dynamic duo of aces in Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.

We say this not just because the Mets currently have their aces set to pitch the final two games in the pivotal Braves series next weekend, but we’re saying this because Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are arguably the two best pitchers in Major League Baseball.

The Mets invested so much money on an annual basis on Scherzer last winter because they know the value of great starting pitching in October and how it occasionally leads to championships. Scherzer’s talent and attitude towards the game and his prowess as a big-game pitcher have changed the entire feel and perception of the franchise going forward that it gives the team another level of confidence from the fans.

And then there’s deGrom. deGrom is wrapping up one of the greatest five-year runs a starting pitcher has had in baseball history. In his 100 starts since the start of 2018, he has a 1.97 ERA in 635.1 innings pitched, with 860 strikeouts, 47 home runs allowed a 201 ERA+, and a 0.858 WHIP. And this year, after four months on the sidelines due to injury, deGrom has a 2.32 ERA and 54.1 innings pitched in nine starts.