Atlanta Braves at NY Mets 7/26/20 - MLB Picks & Predictions

On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves will play on the road at Citi Field in the Big Apple against National League East rival the New York Mets. In the opening game of the regular season on Friday, the Braves were defeated by the Mets 1-0 in a pitching duel between Braves starter Mike Soroka and Mets hurler Jacob deGrom. Soroka, who had won his previous two meetings with deGrom, gave up four hits in six Innings of work but did not take part in the decision.

After just one game, the leading hitter for Atlanta with a batting average of .333 is shortstop Dansby Swanson. The Braves shortstop is tied with the team lead in hits with Ronald Acuna Jr and Marcell Ozuna with one apiece. On Sunday, the Braves will send Sean Newcomb to the mound. In 2019, the  southpaw was 6-3 with an ERA of 3.16, 65 Ks and 29 BBs.

New York received excellent pitching from starter Jacob deGrom and Yoenis Cespedes belted his first home run since 2018. Cespedes was playing as the Mets designated hitter capitalizing on the new rule by the National League to include the designated hitter in every game. Seth Lugo earned the victory for New York after throwing two strong innings. deGrom struck out eight and allowed just a single before being taken out after 72 pitches.

The leading hitter for the New York Mets through one game is Brandon Nimmo with a batting average of .500. The Mets center fielder is also leading the team in hits with two. Yoenis Cespedes is leading the Mets in home runs with one and RBIs with two. New York will send Rick Porcello to the mound on Sunday. In 2019, the right-hander was 14-12 with an ERA of 5.52, 143 Ks and 45 BBs.