Mets at Braves
Dansby Swanson spent most of last season battling an injured wrist, but the Atlanta Braves shortstop is showing in the early days of this season why he was an overall No. 1 draft pick. The Braves open a four-game home series Thursday against the New York Mets and Swanson looks to stay hot, after opening the season with four homers, 15 RBIs and a .324 average through 11 games to help Atlanta rebound from an 0-3 start to win three consecutive series.
Regarded as an outstanding defensive shortstop who struggles to hit consistently, Swanson has been one of the Braves best hitters in the first two weeks, posting a .419 on-base percentage and a 1.183 OPS while becoming the first Atlanta player to record 15 RBIs in 11 games since Andruw Jones in 2006. The Mets ended a two-game losing streak Wednesday with a 9-6 home victory over Minnesota, as rookie first baseman Pete Alonso continued the stellar start to his big-league career. Alonso finished with two walks, a run scored and an RBI in the victory, giving him 15 RBIs through 11 games. Alonso is hitting .366 with a 1.313 OPS, five homers, six doubles and nine runs scored, and he has homered in three of the past four games.
TV: 7:20 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FS South (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets LH Steven Matz (0-0, 0.87 ERA) vs. Braves RH Kevin Gausman (1-0, 0.00)
Matz struggled with control in his last start Saturday against Washington, walking four hitters in five innings, but has only allowed one earned run total in 10 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. The 27-year-old pitched to a 1.247 WHIP and a 3.97 ERA across 30 starts a season ago. Matz, who is 4-0 with a 2.75 ERA in seven career starts against the Braves, gave up one hit in three innings in his only appearance against Atlanta in 2018.
Gausman battled shoulder soreness that forced him to miss the first week of the season, but he held Miami to just two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in seven scoreless innings Friday. The 28-year-old threw 54 of his 88 pitches for strikes in his season debut, facing one hitter over the minimum. Gausman lost his only start against the Mets last season, surrendering three runs on six hits in five innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets RF Michael Conforto has at least one hit in nine of his past 10 games with seven multi-hit games in that span, and has driven in eight runs in his past four contests.
2. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis is 5-for-8 with three RBIs and two runs scored in his past two games, and in 11 games this season has scored eight runs with nine RBIs.
3. After allowing 23 runs in their first three games, the Braves have surrendered 22 runs and posted a 2.63 ERA while winning seven of their past eight.