Comparing Schedules for Mets, Braves With Wire in Sight

132 games down, 30 to go.

The playoff race is entering the stretch run, and it’s looking like the Mets and Braves will battle it out for the final Wild Card spot.

Atlanta (72-60) leads New York (69-63) by three games. Let’s take a look at who the division rivals play the rest of the way.

The Mets have seven games with the Phillies, three each with the Brewers and Red Sox and two with the Diamondbacks. So, 15 games against clubs that are over .500. New York also plays three games apiece with the White Sox, Nationals, Reds and Blue Jays—combined winning percentage of remaining opponents: .504.

The Braves have four games apiece with the Dodgers and Phillies, three with the Royals, and a game with the Twins tonight. That’s the hard part of their schedule. They also have three each with the Marlins, Rockies and Blue Jays, four with the Reds and two with the Nationals. Combined winning percentage of remaining opponents: .500.

The Mets have 13 games left at Citi Field and 17 on the road, while the Braves have 17 at home and 13 away.

There is also the potentially key/critical/must-win three-game set the teams have with each other in Atlanta from Sept. 24-26, which could go a long way toward deciding who plays postseason baseball. That series begins with just six games left in the season. Atlanta finishes the regular season at home against the Royals, while the Mets travel to Milwaukee.

The NL East rivals are still chasing Arizona (75-57) and San Diego (76-58), who started tied for the top Wild Card spot Wednesday, with three games clear of the Braves and six of the Mets.

Arizona has the fourth-toughest schedule in baseball the rest of the way. Its remaining opponents, including 11 games with the Dodgers and Brewers, have a .525 winning percentage. The Padres’ remaining opponents’ winning percentage is .493.

The Cubs (winners of seven of their last 10) and Giants, who are both at 67-66, are trailing the Mets by 2.5 games. The Cubs have the second-easiest schedule in the National League (including seven with the Nationals), and the Giants have the hardest remaining slate (23 of 29 vs. teams currently in playoff position).

Fangraphs gives the Mets an 18.9 percent chance of making the playoffs, and it has the Braves at 85.3 percent. Buckle up.

The post Comparing Schedules for Mets, Braves With Wire in Sight appeared first on Metsmerized Online.