The Atlanta Braves are making things interesting in the National League East. The Mets have controlled the division for most of the season.
After beating the Oakland A’s in a thriller on Tuesday night, the Braves pulled into a deadlock with the Mets for first place.
Despite the Braves’ rise, the Mets are still heavy favorites to take the division. Check out the full odds to win the NL East below, via DraftKings:
National League East Division Odds:
-
Mets: -225
-
Braves: +165
-
Phillies: +90000
The Braves have dealt with their fair share of injuries throughout the season, and even after losing their heart and soul in Freddie Freeman in the offseason, they remain one of the toughest teams to beat in the MLB.
“These guys just keep fighting,” manager Brian Snitker said. “They don’t panic, they never have. It would have been kind of easy in that game to kind of ‘woe is me’ it. But they kept fighting the fight.”
Atlanta’s fighting nature was on full display on Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Kyle Wright was roughed up in his worst statistical start of the year, and the Braves blew two separate four-run leads in the first five innings. The team finally held the lead after slugger Austin Riley put them ahead with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Closer Kenley Jansen also set aside his recent woes by pulling through for a perfect 1,2,3 ninth inning to slam the door shut on Oakland.
“It’s a testament to that group in there,” Snitker said. “It’s all about them and how they just keep everything even keel and do their job.”
The NL East pennant race is bound to come down to the wire. The Braves have shown over the past few seasons that they aren’t a team that’s going to back down from a fight.
