The set-up: The NY Mets have been to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and return basically the same roster as 2016. When healthy, New York's starting rotation is among MLB's very best. However, that rotation has already had its problem this spring, as Stephen Matz begins the season on the DL (elbow) and Matt Harvey has not reached the same velocity since having thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last summer. In contrast to the Mets' win season, the Braves won only 68 games last season. That said, Atlanta did win 20 of its final 30 contests, as the addition of left fielder Kemp and shortstop prospect Swanson in August sparked the Braves' offense. Th issue heading into the 2017 season opener is a questionable starting rotation that felt as if adding R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon, a pair of 40-plus-year-old starters, to the back end of the rotation was a smart move. We'll see?

The pitching matchup: How New York's overall rotation will pan out is still a question mark but at the top, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob DeGrom give the Mets two Cy Young candidates. Syndergaard followed a strong rookie campaign with an All-Star appearance in 2016, finishing third in the NL in ERA, (2.60), fourth in strikeouts (218) and seventh in WAR (5.3). The 24-year-old dominated right-handers, holding them to a .228 average and a .581 OPS while giving up only five homers in 416 plate appearances. Syndergaard made one start against the Braves last season, giving up five runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 7-3 loss Sept. 19. He's made just three career starst against them, going 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA (team is 1-2). Atlanta's Julio Teheran was 7-10 with a 3.21 ERA in 2016. He pitched way better than his record, as he received only 3.37 runs per start in 2016 , the third-lowest average in the majors. He's made 30-plus starts each of the past four seasons with a 3.21 or lower ERA in three of those campaigns. Teheran, who made the All-Star team and finished 10th in the NL in WAR for pitchers (4.8) last season, went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in four starts against the Mets in 2016 and overall, is 7-3 with a 2.02 ERA in 16 career starts but the team is just 8-6.

The pick: As noted earlier, the Braves played well late in teheseason but so did the Mets, who closed on a 27-13 kick to earn home field in the wild-card game game (didn't help, though against Bumgarner). Fredi Gonzalez of Atlanta was fired following a 9-28 start but Atlanta went 59-65 under interim skipper Brian Snitker, including 12-2 in the final 14 games. Snitker now has the full-time job and he's been in the Braves organization in many different roles since becoming a minor league player in 1977.

While Syndergaard has had little success against the Barves, it's over a small sample size (three starts). He's a 'monster' and Teheran is a hard luck pitcher who rarerly get support (see above). He won't get much here in his 2017 opener. Make the Mets an 8* play.