Mets and Dodgers Face Off In Series With NL East Implications

Anderson notched a win against the Mets on June 3 when he held them scoreless over six innings of work.

The Mets could walk away feeling strong from what is essentially a postseason preview, but if things were to go sideways, their division lead could be in trouble.

With an 18-10 record so far in August, the Mets are still on track for the second-best record in franchise history. But that has not resulted in much cushion in the N.L. East, where Atlanta is only three games behind. The Braves, who have won seven of their last 10 games, start a three-game series against the lowly Rockies on Tuesday, getting a chance to beat them up while the Mets duke it out with Los Angeles.

The Mets could be one bad series away from a tie for first place, while the Dodgers, who lead the San Diego Padres by 19.5 games in the N.L. West, could coast for the remainder of the season and still easily win their division.

Regardless, Manager Buck Showalter believes the challenge of a series against the Dodgers will be good for his club.

“They’re one of the best teams in baseball,” he said. “It’s a good series for the fans. We don’t look forward to it necessarily. What you look forward to is the competition of facing a really good team.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/sports/baseball/mets-dodgers.html