Pick and Prediction for Braves vs. Mets – Monday, May 2nd, 2022

The reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves are heading to New York to take on the Mets on Monday night. This is a big time matchup despite it being very early in the 2022 MLB season.

The Braves have gotten off to a bit of a slow start so far at 10-13 (4th in NL East). They shouldn’t remain there for too much longer, as the return of Ronald Acuna Jr. should spark their lineup.

As for the Mets, they’ve enjoyed a great start to 2022 at an impressive 16-7 (1st in NL East). They did have the best record in baseball, but the other New York team in the Yankees now have that title after a huge winning streak.

Let’s check out the odds for Braves vs. Mets and see which team we should bet on for Monday night on MLB Network.

As you can see from the odds, the Braves find themselves as slight underdogs on the road. Bovada actually has them in negative odds territory, so they’re expecting a very close game. These are the best betting sites for the MLB, so head over there to find these odds.

The Mets are an impressive 7-3 at Citi Field in 2022. They also have yet to lose a series this year, so they are going to be tough to beat. Atlanta is 4-6 on the road, which isn’t terrible considering their bad start to the season.

The season is still young and these teams should even out as the season goes on. New York could stay as a top tier team in the MLB this year, but I don’t think the Braves will be at the bottom for much longer.

Let’s take a look at the matchup preview for Monday and what each team is bringing to the table.

The biggest thing to look at when betting on a team is their starting pitchers. We have a pretty great pitching matchup today, so this game should be close for the majority of the game if not all of it.

Lefty Max Fried heads to the mound for Atlanta tonight. He has a 2-2 record with a nice 3.00 ERA in 2022 so far. He’s opposed by Chris Bassitt, who’s been great in his first season with the Mets so far. He’s 3-1 on the year and has an impressive 2.25 ERA in 24 innings pitched.

Let’s take a deeper dive into each team and how they match up against these pitchers.

The Braves’ record reflects their struggles pretty accurately so far in 2022. They aren’t doing particularly well offensively or defensively, but that typically happens when coming off a World Series win.

One thing they have been doing well is hitting the long ball. They have 28 home runs on the year, which ranks 3rd (tied) in the MLB. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley each have 6 and Marcell Ozuna has 4.

There are hardly any players with career plate appearances against Bassitt, so this will be a challenge. Bassitt also has a 5 pitch mix, so they’ll have to really work their at-bats to run up his pitch count.

Bassitt has been dominating righties in 2022 (0.77 batting average), while lefties are the ones doing most of the work on him (.267 BA, 2 HR). The Braves are righty-heavy, so Albies and Olson will be playing a large role in this game.

Bassitt should be in for another strong start in this game. The Braves have Albies and Olson to bat lefty, but not much else. If he can manage to get around those two, he should be able to cruise through the rest of the lineup.

As for the Mets’ opposing starting pitcher, they will be taking on Max Fried. Fried is a respectable starter, so New York has their work cut out for them as well. Here’s how the Mets rank against lefties in 2022.

Lefties are hitting just .188, while righties are hitting .243 against Fried in 2022. The Mets have been decent, but not great against lefties so far this year.

He’s had one start on the road and it was an incredible outing against the Dodgers. He went 7 innings, allowed just 2 hits, 0 walks, and struck out 8 against possibly the best lineup in baseball. His other three starts haven’t been as dominant, but the Mets should prepare for Fried to be at his best.

If you’re looking for a nice parlay to place for this game, I have one with (+950) odds for you.

First up, I have Starling Marte to get 2 or more hits, runs, or RBI combined. He should be in a good spot against Fried and has decent numbers against him already. Marte has faced Fried 9 times in his career and has 3 hits (.333 AVG), including a double and RBI. He’s also only struck out just one time in those 9 at-bats.

His numbers are down right now, but he’s matched up well with Fried.

Pete Alonso (443ft) welcomes Max Fried back from IL. ? #MLB #LGM
pic.twitter.com/aCVQb31ctH

— SportsGridRadio (@SportsGridRadio) June 30, 2021

Another Met that has good numbers against the lefty is the Polar Bear, Pete Alonso. Alonso has faced Fried in 23 total career plate appearances. He isn’t hitting for a high average (4/18, .222), but he’s hit two career home runs off Fried.

His career ISO vs. lefties is very good at .303, so his 5th home run of the season could be in store tonight. The value for the home run is the biggest seller here, but feel free to take it out if you feel it’s too risky.

The Braves haven’t seen Bassitt at all really and are righty heavy. I think if he keeps the ball in the yard, he will go deep into the game and reach 6 or more strikeouts. He’s gotten 6 strikeouts in all 4 of his starts this year and is averaging over a strikeout per inning (9.75 K/9).

Head over to Bovada to find these odds and place your same game parlay for Braves vs. Mets.

You probably knew what was coming for this section after seeing my SGP for this game. Adding the Mets’ moneyline to that parlay boosts it up to (+1600), so keep that in mind.

The Braves have yet to get it going in 2022 and I am going to hold off on them until they do. New York has looked incredible and their big free agent acquisitions are paying off so far this year.

New York is also the hottest hitting team in the MLB over the last two weeks or so. They’re hitting .264 as a team, while Atlanta is just at .219 (tied for 21st).

This should be a close game though, so Atlanta +1.5 (-195) could be something to consider as well. The Braves should be better as the season goes on, but I’ll take the Mets to take Game 1 of the series.

Be sure to head back to our baseball picks page for more recommended bets.