NL East crown more important to Mets than Braves?

Barring a surprising development that would have to last through the bulk of September, the race for the 2022 National League East title between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves could ultimately come down to the wire and be decided when the clubs face off for three games in Atlanta from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

At the start of Wednesday's MLB action, the first-place Mets held a slight two-game lead over the second-place Braves in the division standings. For a piece published Wednesday morning, ESPN's David Schoenfield suggested that winning the NL East this fall likely means more to the Mets than to the Braves as it pertains to chasing a World Series title, largely because of how New York could then handle aces Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom during the postseason tournament. 

"First off, you want to avoid a best-of-three series if possible, where anything can happen," Schoenfield noted. "Then keep in mind that the top wild card (likely the NL East runner-up) gets the fourth seed, which would mean a matchup against the (Los Angeles) Dodgers in the division series. And, finally, if you do have to play in the first round, that means your rotation may not be aligned exactly the way you want for the second round. For the Mets, that would mean their No. 4 starter, and not Scherzer or Jacob deGrom, going in for the first game of the second-round series."

As Schoenfield added, there remain questions about how much deGrom will pitch over the next six weeks. 

The 34-year-old, who missed the second half of last season because of lingering elbow issues and who was subsequently sidelined throughout the opening half of the 2022 campaign due to a stress reaction in his right scapula, recently had a scheduled start against the New York Yankees pushed back. That caused some to believe the Mets may be worried about the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner's arm even though he's only logged four starts since his return to big league action earlier this month.