New York @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2015 ) NY Mets 5, Atlanta 1

Having too many capable starting pitchers is not a bad thing, but as the New York Mets push closer to the National League East division title, they face the quandary of figuring out who will comprise their postseason rotation. Noah Syndergaard gets his latest turn to impress Saturday as the high-flying Mets play the third game of a four-game road series versus the Atlanta Braves.

New York manager Terry Collins has skipped some of his starters the past two weeks in order to ease the innings load on a staff featuring six contenders for starting nods in the playoffs. The Mets have won five in a row and eight of 11 and lead Washington by 8 ½ games in the East after Friday’s 5-1 victory, punctuated by Yoenis Cespedes’ seventh homer in his past 10 games. The Braves also are looking at their starting rotation with an eye on the future, albeit 2016 and not next month, as rookie Williams Perez takes the mound Saturday – the second of three consecutive rookies to face the Mets in the series. At 56-86, the Braves are 30 games under .500 for the first time since finishing the 1990 season at 65-97.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FSN South (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Noah Syndergaard (8-6, 3.31 ERA) vs. Braves RH Williams Perez (5-6, 5.42)

The Mets skipped Syndergaard’s turn through the rotation last weekend, opting to go with fellow rookie Steven Matz on Sunday in Miami. New York hopes the extra rest will benefit the 23-year-old Syndergaard, whose August ERA ballooned to 4.79 with nine homers allowed in 35 2/3 innings. Syndergaard still has found ways to win, going 3-1 last month after posting a 2-1 record with a 1.32 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP in July.

The Braves hope Perez is returning to his early-season success after he allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings – with seven strikeouts and no walks – in his last start Monday at Philadelphia. He struggled mightily in his previous seven starts since coming off the disabled list July 31, posting a 9.59 ERA while going 0-6 with 20 walks and 14 strikeouts. Perez went 4-0 with a 2.88 ERA in 11 appearances before bruising his left foot June 26 at Pittsburgh, and earned a save against the Mets on June 13 with a scoreless inning.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta hopes CF Cameron Maybin, who has missed the past six games with a corneal abrasion, will be ready to return early next week.

2. Since going 11-26 on the road through June 30, the Mets are 24-11 away from home.

3. Braves C Christian Bethancourt allowed a run to score Friday on a passed ball, his seventh passed ball of the season in just 315 1/3 innings.

PREDICTION: Mets 4, Braves 2