The Atlanta Braves got a much needed 9-2 victory against the New York Mets on Wednesday, and clinched a split in their four game series leaving them where they started going into the series at six games back behind the Mets for first place in the NL East. However, if you consider the Braves winning the first game of the series, then getting swept in their double header with the Mets on Tuesday, and coming back and getting the win today in the series finale, a split doesn’t seem that bad, but with the Braves not gaining any ground on the Mets and still being six games back Jon Chuckery explained on his show Wednesday night why these next eleven games for the Atlanta Braves could be dangerous.
These next eleven games will be very important for the Atlanta Braves simply because the Braves have some series with some tough opponents coming up and the New York Mets’ next eleven games are not against very tough teams, so it could be a situation where the Braves a six games back now, but could fall behind even more in the NL East race if things don’t go their way over the next eleven games. Jon Chuckery put it in simpler terms saying”The Braves are covered up in really good teams over the next eleven, the Mets are looking at a bunch of second citiers coming up over this next stretch.” Over the next eleven games the Braves will play a 17-8 Milwaukee Brewers team in a three game series at home, a two game series with a not so good but scrappy 10-15 Boston Red Sox team at home, a three game series with a 16-9 San Diego Padres team that the Braves split a four game series with earlier in the season, and the Braves close out the tough eleven game stretch with another three game series against a 17-8 Milwaukee Brewers team, this time in Milwaukee. To sum it all up you’re playing two very good teams basically back to back to back with a mediocre team in between to space it out a little. Now, the good news is that besides the last series against the Brewers all of those games will be at home, and as Chuckery said those are series you need to win because “you have to protect home field”. However, those are still very tough series that could go south if the Braves aren’t on top of their game. Now, the New York Mets’ next eleven games look a lot different as they will play a not so good 11-14 Philadelphia Phillies team in a four game series, a bad 9-17 Washington Nationals team in a three game series, a mediocre 12-13 Seattle Mariners team that has lost seven of their last ten and three in a row, and that eleventh game starts a four game series against a solid 14-10 St. Louis Cardinals team. Again the point is the next eleven games for the Atlanta Braves are pretty tough, and the next eleven games for the New York Mets are pretty easy, so with the Braves being six games back behind the Mets already this stretch could put the Braves in a deep hole.
Now, even if this stretch doesn’t go the Braves way there will still be time for the Braves to come back because it’s still fairly early in the season, but if you’re the Braves you don’t want to put yourself in a deep hole whether it’s early in the season or not, so will these next eleven games make or break the Atlanta Braves’ entire season? No, but it could show what direction this season might be going in for the Atlanta Braves.