Atlanta @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 25, 2018 ) Atlanta 7, NY Mets 3

The Atlanta Braves are National League East champions in part for their work in the late innings and enter the middle contest of their three-game series against the host New York Mets on Wednesday riding the wave of yet another come-from-behind victory. The Braves posted a 7-3 victory in the series opener, rallying from a 3-0 deficit after six innings to win for the 10th time this season when trailing after six frames as Kurt Suzuki drove in two runs and scored twice.

Atlanta, which has earned its first postseason berth in five seasons by repeatedly rallying in the late innings, got big performances from Suzuki, rookie Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies – with the latter belting a two-run homer in the eighth to give him 24 on the season. Despite already having locked up the division title, the Braves have plenty for which to play during this final week of the regular season as they are in a dogfight for home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Mets are playing out the string but have fared better in the final month of the campaign, as they won three of four overall before losing for the 13th time in 17 meetings with Atlanta this year - and seventh time in eight matchups at home. Michael Conforto registered his major league-leading 28th RBI this month in the series opener as he finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), SNY (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves LH Sean Newcomb (12-9, 4.04 ERA) vs. Mets RH Jacob deGrom (9-9, 1.77)

Newcomb has excelled for most of his first full major-league season, but he likely is pitching for a spot on the postseason roster after recording a 7.44 ERA and .312 opponents batting average over his last seven starts. The 25-year-old yielded five runs and six hits in just three innings of a loss to Washington on Sept. 16, marking the fourth time in his last seven turns he has permitted five or more runs. Newcomb is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts against New York this year.

It has been an historic season for deGrom, who leads the majors in ERA while averaging 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings, but he could end the campaign with a losing record and finish without reaching double digits in victories. The 30-year-old hopes to become the fifth pitcher since 2001 to lead his league with a sub-2.00 ERA, which is quite possible considering he hasn't been above that mark since May 2, but the Mets have provided him with only 3.55 runs per start - the third-lowest amount among qualifying pitchers. DeGrom has posted a 1.09 ERA in five starts against the Braves this campaign but is 0-2 as New York has lost all five contests.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta SS Dansby Swanson exited the series opener as a precaution after experiencing left hand soreness.

2. DeGrom has held opponents to three runs of fewer in 28 consecutive starts, the longest single-season streak in major-league history.

3. Braves RHP Arodys Vizcaino was worked three perfect innings over his last three appearances after tossing a 1-2-3 ninth on Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Braves 2, Mets 1