First pitch: Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: New York -160, Miami +150, Total: 8.0

The Braves will be looking to win their eighth game in their past nine contests when they host the Mets on Friday.

The Mets have really struggled recently, losing four of their past six games and seven of their past 12 as well. This team just has not had much success offensively, scoring three or less runs in eight of those 12 contests. They will need to start doing a better job of putting runs on the board or they might just miss out on the playoffs this year. The Braves, meanwhile, are extremely hot at the moment. They are coming off of a 4-3 victory over the Mets on Thursday and have now won seven of their past eight games. Atlanta has gotten some excellent pitching from its staff lately, allowing three or less runs in seven straight games. This one should be another low scoring one, as both teams clearly have trouble driving in runs. The starters on Friday are set to be LHP Steven Matz (7-3, 2.74 ERA, 73 K) for the Mets and RHP Aaron Blair (0-4, 7.19 ERA, 27 K) for the Braves. New York is a remarkable 17-2 against the money line after scoring and allowing four runs or less in its past three games over the last two seasons. Atlanta, meanwhile, is an impressive 22-12 against the money line off an upset win over a division rival over the past two seasons. OF Yoenis Cespedes (Wrist) is expected to miss this game for the Mets and OF Michael Conforto (Knee) is questionable for the team as well.

Steven Matz got off to a hot start this season, but he has struggled a bit lately, with the Mets losing his past four starts and him allowing nine runs in his last 22.2 innings as well. Prior to those outings, Matz had allowed just six earned runs in his previous six games and he’ll be hoping to recapture that magic on Friday. He has been solid against the Braves this season, allowing just two earned runs in each of his three starts against the team. He has also struck out a total of 23 batters in those appearances against Atlanta, so it’s likely that he’ll be missing some bats in this one. Offensively, people should keep an eye on 3B Wilmer Flores (.226, 3 HR, 10 RBI) and SS Asdrubal Cabrera (.268, 8 HR, 24 RBI) in this one. Flores homered the last time he faced Blair and it’d be huge for the Mets if he can do it again. Cabrera, meanwhile, is 3-for-6 against Blair in his career and New York could use some production from him in this one. This team has struggled hitting the ball lately and needs all the base runners it can get on Friday.

The Braves are scorching hot as of late, but it’s going to be tough for them to earn a victory with Aaron Blair on the mound. Blair had a 4.05 ERA back on May 12, but that has now risen to a 7.19. He has not pitched more than six innings in a start all season and he has allowed at least two earned runs in each of his past eight starts. That might not seem bad, but he pitched less than six innings in each of the games in which he allowed only two earned runs. Atlanta needs him to find a way to work deeper into this game. The only thing working in his favor is that the Mets are banged up and struggling offensively. The guys to look out for in Atlanta’s lineup are OF Jeff Francoeur (.268, 3 HR, 18 RBI) and 1B Freddie Freeman (.275, 12 HR, 26 RBI). The two of them are a combined 6-for-19 with a homer and two RBI against Matz in their careers. Freeman also happens to be hitting very well coming into this one and has seen his average rise from .250 to .275 over the past 10 games. The Braves could use a big performance from him on Friday.