This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The last time the Atlanta Braves visited Queens, they earned a decisive series win to send the New York Mets into a tailspin that threatened to ruin their season.
The Braves and Mets will be in decidedly different positions Thursday night when skidding Atlanta visits red-hot New York in the opener of a pivotal four-game series between the National League East rivals.
Braves left-hander Chris Sale (13-3, 2.70 ERA) is slated to make his first start in 11 days against Mets right-hander Luis Severino (7-3, 3.58 ERA).
The race between Atlanta and New York for the top NL wild-card spot grew closer Wednesday, when the host Braves fell to the Cincinnati Reds 9-4 hours before the visiting Mets cruised to a 12-3 win over the New York Yankees and a sweep of the two-game Subway Series.
The loss was the seventh in the past 10 games for Atlanta, which maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over the Mets when the second game of the scheduled day-night doubleheader against the Reds was rained out. The abbreviated afternoon concluded a difficult homestand for the Braves in which they went 1-4 and lost second baseman Ozzie Albies (broken left wrist) and All-Star pitcher Max Fried (left forearm neuritis) to injuries.
However, Atlanta’s struggles stretch back much further. The Braves are 30-34 and have scored the third-fewest runs in the NL since a 4-1 victory over the Mets on May 11, when they came within one out of the franchise’s first no-hitter in 30 years.
The Braves, who have won six straight NL East crowns, are just two games clear of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres, who are in a virtual tie for the final NL wild-card spot.
“It’s never easy — it always is magnified when it’s happening to yourself,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said of the club’s slump. “As a team, don’t feel like we’re clicking.”
The Mets are clicking at a level that was unimaginable in the May series against the Braves. New York didn’t lead in the three-game set until Brandon Nimmo’s two-run, walk-off homer lifted New York to a 4-3 win on May 12.
The Mets then lost 13 of their next 16 and fell to 22-33 on May 29, when they had the third-worst record in the NL and were six games out of the third wild-card spot. However, New York has posted the best record (31-15) and scored the most runs (266) in the majors since May 30.
Francisco Lindor hit two of the Mets’ five homers on Wednesday, when they completed their second season-long Subway Series sweep. The Mets also went 4-0 against the Yankees in 2013.
“It’s just great winning — I love winning,” Lindor said. “(The Subway Series) is more for the fans to talk bragging rights and stuff. But for us, you’ve got to take care of business (and) whoever’s on the other side.”
Sale, whose scheduled starts Tuesday and in Wednesday’s nightcap were rained out, hasn’t pitched since July 14, when he earned a win after allowing one run over five innings in the Braves’ 6-3 victory over the Padres. He is 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three career starts against the Mets.
Severino earned a win on Saturday when he allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in the Mets’ 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. He is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three lifetime starts against the Braves. The 30-year-old didn’t factor into the decision on May 12 when he gave up two runs over five-plus innings against Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
