NY Mets should be more confident than the Braves for these 3 reasons

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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.

2) The Mets have a more trusted manager at the helm in Buck Showalter.

Buck Showalter’s baseball knowledge and experience have helped the Mets out time after time all year.

Showalter has helped the Mets with situational hitting and baserunning, had the Mets master many of the weird in-game situations the team ran themselves into, and has a challenge rate of over 77 percent the best in the majors by a wide margin.

Showalter is the frontrunner to be National League Manager of the Year, with the Mets having already won nearly 20 more games than they did all of last season.

When was the last time you could legitimately say the Mets had a great in-game skipper? Perhaps Willie Randolph? Davey Johnson? Who knows, but Showalter has blown each of the previous four managers combined out of the water for building a winning culture while using his own instincts.

Brian Snitker has done a fabulous job over the past few seasons with the Braves this season, as they were down by double digit games in the division race, but they have since stormed back to make the NL East race the most compelling playoff race of the 2022 season.

But in every meaningful game the Mets play in the rest of the season, including the playoffs, the Mets will have the clear advantage at the manager position, unless they play Terry Francona and the Cleveland Guardians in the World Series.

3) The Mets have done a better job this season at holding late leads than the Braves, thanks to one powerful Edwin Diaz.

Entering Saturday’s action, the Mets have an 83-5 record this season when leading after six innings. They are also 84-3 when leading after seven frames and 85-0 when leading after eight. The Mets’ success holding leads is unheard of in franchise history.

In fact, if the Mets don’t blow a ninth inning lead over their last 11 games, it would mark the first time in team history they went a whole season without blowing a game with a lead entering the ninth inning. And it has to do with the confidence of baseball’s premier relief pitcher, Edwin Diaz.

You know in your heart the game is over when No. 39 enters the game in a save situation. And it hasn’t been that Diaz has always entered the game in the ninth. Buck Showalter will bring him in earlier if it means the other team’s best hitters are due up. It is a strategy that is being copied by other teams.

But it hasn’t been just Diaz that has been effective. It’s been Seth Lugo and Adam Ottavino that have formed a great back end of the bullpen that has proven to be difficult to beat.

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Kenley Jansen has been shaky as of late in shutdown situations. They must consider putting Raisel Iglesias in the closers’ role; he has thrown 18 straight scoreless outings, dating back to August 10.

And here are the Braves’ records this season through Sept. 23 when leading after six, seven, and eight innings respectively, in case you're wondering: 76-11 when leading after six, 80-8 after seven, and 83-4 after eight.

Next. Predicting how the Mets playoff roster will look like. dark

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