A winning streak will be on the line for the New York Mets on Thursday when they battle the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

The Mets will pin their hopes on the pitching of lefthander Oliver Perez in this game. Perez has a 2-2 record and a 8.78 ERA this season.

Perez’s opponent in this one will be Derek Lowe. The Braves ace righthander has a 4.39 ERA to go along with a 8-7 record this season.

Oddsmakers currently have the Braves listed as 175-moneyline favorites versus the Mets, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

The Mets defeated Cincinnati 9-7 as a -110 favorite on Sunday. The 16 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (8).

Gary Sheffield was 2-5 with three RBI for the Mets and Luis Castillo was 3-4 with three runs scored.

The Braves lost to Colorado 8-7 as a +135 underdog on Sunday. The 15 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (10).

Brooks Conrad was 3-5 with a home run and three RBI for Atlanta and Nate McLouth was 2-3 with two runs scored.

Current streak:
New York has won 2 straight games.

Team records:
New York: 42-45 SU
Atlanta: 43-45 SU

New York most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Atlanta are 6-4
After playing Cincinnati are 4-6
After a win are 3-7

Atlanta most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing NY Mets are 4-6
After playing Colorado are 8-2
After a loss are 4-6

A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Mets’s last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of NY Mets’s last 19 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Mets’s last 6 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Mets’s last 9 games 
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Atlanta’s last 9 games 
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Atlanta’s last 19 games when playing at home against NY Mets
Atlanta is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against NY Mets

Next up:
Atlanta home to NY Mets, Friday, July 17