The Braves are embarking on arguably their toughest stretch of the season this week. It begins with a four-game series versus the Mets, who have owned Atlanta so far this season. And it ends with a World Series rematch against the Astros, as they come to Truist Park for a three-game set. Thankfully, all seven games take place at home, but this week still has the potential to sink the Braves’ ship if they don’t play their best baseball.
Former Braves’ third baseman and Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones is well aware of what lies ahead for Atlanta. In an interview with 92.9 The Game on Friday, Jones called the Mets and Astros the two best teams in baseball right now.
“I feel like right now, the two best teams in Major League Baseball are the New York Mets and the Houston Astros,” Jones said. “The Braves, they went on that streak where they won fourteen straight but, the fact of the matter is, they haven’t played particularly well in the division.”
Jones continued raving about the Mets, “The New York Mets have basically dominated this division. They’ve beaten up on us, they’re 9-2 against the Phillies and they’re killing the Marlins. They’ve beaten (Sandy) Alcantara 3 or 4 times and the Braves can’t touch him.”
As of today, I’m not sure how anybody can argue with what Jones said. The Mets have dominated the Braves over their last eight meetings, which is a primary reason why they sit 5.5 games up in the division. They are also playing arguably the best baseball of anyone right now, winners of 17 of their last 20 games. The Mets are a scrappy bunch with an outstanding pitching staff, and they are playing with a ton of confidence. If they aren’t the best team in baseball, they are certainly up there.
The same can be said about the Astros. They have a 13-game lead in the AL West and have done essentially whatever they wanted all season long. Like the Mets, they feature one of the best pitching staffs in the league, and you know they’ll be heading to Truist Park with revenge on their mind after what happened last year.
The good news is the Braves are a pretty damn good team themselves. They sit at 70-46 on the season and have won six straight games. This week’s competition is much stiffer, but it should serve as a fantastic test to see where the Braves are at with about six weeks left in the season. If they want to have any chance of catching the Mets in the division, these are the games they must start winning.
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