While the battle to win the World Series is the ultimate aim in Major League Baseball, the divisions often throw up some intriguing little confrontations of their own, and none more so than this year's fight to win the National League East between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves.
The New York Mets are having a great season. They didnât start as one of the main favorites but they have steadily shortened in price all season and they now find themselves as the fourth betting favorite to win the 2022 World Series with the best Baseball betting sites.
As for the Atlanta Braves, although they are the current World Series champions, having defeated Houston Astros in six matches in the final last year, they didnât start the current season as the betting favorite.
They were in the chasing pack of teams, but they were way behind the LA Dodgers in the betting at the start of the season, as indeed was just about everybody.
The Braves have been overhauled in the betting odds by their NL East rivals though, and as you would also expect, New York Mets have overhauled the Braves and are now the favorites to win the National League East.
New York Mets; One of the MLB Form Teams of the Season
At the time of writing, the New York Mets sit top of the NL East with a win percentage of .625. They are 26-13 at home, and 24-17 away from Citi Field.
The Mets have been stuttering a bit lately and are 5-5 from their last ten, and included in that run is a 9-1 loss at home to the Houston Astros.
The series against the Astros may indicate how New York might get on in the postseason. In the four matches they played against the Astros in June (two home and two away), the Mets lost all four. As well as the 9-1 mauling at home to last yearâs World Series beaten finalists, they also lost 8-2 and 5-3 at Minute Maid Park.
Further back, and at the start of June, the Mets managed a 2-2 mini-series scoreline against the Dodgers. They lost the first two games 2-0 and 6-1 but bounced back with impressive 9-4 and 5-4 wins. All four fixtures were on the road.
Defending World Series Champions; The Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves showed their class last season by winning the World Series 6-2 against the betting favorites, Houston Astros. The Braves were continually written off in 2021, and all-season supporters and pundits alike were expecting their run to come to an abrupt end. But it didnât, and in the end, the Braves went on to win the World Series for the fourth time in their history, and the first time this century.
This season has been a different story though. The Braves are where most expected them to be last season, and they currently sit second in the NL East on a win percentage of .580.
At home is probably where the main problem lies for the defending champions. They currently have a 25-17 record, which is a win percentage of .595. The Mets have a home record of 26-13, with a win percentage of .666.
That gap in percentage might not sound the biggest, but itâs pretty much the difference between first and second in the table.
To qualify for the Playoffs Betting
The Braves are still expected to qualify for the postseason though. Currently, the best MLB betting sites make them -1000 to qualify, and +600 to not even make the postseason in a year when they are defending the World Series. The same online sportsbook doesnât rate their World Series defense chances very highly though, BetOnline has them as sixth favorites at +1400 in the latest betting to win the 2022 World Series.
Please check our BetOnline Sportsbook Review for more betting offers.
What About The Phillies?
XBet has the Philadelphia Phillies at +1800 to win the division. Theyâre at a win percentage of .525 and if they can sort their home form out (currently 20-18), then they could have an outside chance of a second. Itâs debatable if the Phillies have that quality throughout the side and itâs a wager I wouldnât entertain.
Who Will Win the NL East?
Itâs been a dog fight all season long, and as we saw last year, itâs either a very brave or stupid punter that writes the Atlanta Braves off. Step forward me!!
The New York Mets have had a decent season. And I think if they can just find one more final push, they will be able to hold off the Braves. Iâm going for New York to win the NL East.
