Standings
1st. New York Mets- 28-15
2nd. Philadelphia Phillies- 19-22 (8 GB)
3rd. Atlanta Braves- 19-22 (8 GB)
4th. Miami Marlins- 18-22 (8.5 GB)
5th. Washington Nationals- 14-28 (13.5 GB)
Recap
New York Mets
The Mets continued to roll this week, starting with taking three of four from the Cardinals at home. They officially took the series on Wednesday with an 11-4 win, but it came at a cost. Max Scherzer had to be removed from the game and it was later revealed that the ace pitcher suffered an oblique strain that will keep him out six to eight weeks. The right hander is currently 5-1 with an ERA of 2.54 in eight starts this season.
Nevertheless, New York then went on to take two of three from the Rockies in Colorado. Taijuan Walker tossed a gem in the series finale on Sunday. Walker threw seven shutout innings while allowing just five hits and two walks and striking out six. The 29-year-old right hander now has a 2.70 ERA in six starts this year.
Upcoming games- Three in San Francisco followed by three at home with the Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies were not able to carry over their momentum from a strong West Coast trip, as they went 2-4 on the homestand that started with dropping two games to the Padres in which they were shut out in both losses. The win however was also a shutout thanks to a phenomenal performance from Zack Wheeler. The Cy Young runner up allowed just four hits and struck out nine with no walks in the 3-0 victory.
Philadelphia then narrowly avoided a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers thanks to a critical error from Max Muncy at second base. After a Jean Segura single in the ninth forced extras, L.A. took a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the tenth. Alec Bohm hit a ground ball right at Muncy that he bobbled twice that allowed two runs to score, including the speedy Roman Quinn from second base.
Upcoming games- Four in Atlanta followed by three in New York with the Mets
Atlanta Braves
The Braves started their week by dropping two of three to the Brewers in Milwaukee. The win was a 3-0 shutout powered by a two-run home run from Marcel Ozuna and five strong innings from Tucker Davidson. The 26-year-old pitcher did not allow any runs and just three hits and three walks on 69 total pitches.
Atlanta then took two of three from Miami on the road to wrap up the weekend. They clobbered three home runs in the contest, with two coming in the first two innings where they jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the bottom of the second. In his return to the site of his devastating injury, Ronald Acuna Jr. went 2-4 with a walk, run scored, and a stolen base. Acuna now has eight stolen bases in just 15 games played.
Upcoming games- Four games with Philadelphia followed by three more at home with the Marlins
Miami Marlins
The Marlins took two of three from the Nats at home to start their week. They slugged 8 runs on 14 hits in the opening game of the series, an 8-2 win. Jazz Chisholm Jr. continued his stellar season by collecting three hits and an RBI. The emerging star is hitting .320 over the last week with a home run and three RBIs.
Miami then traveled to Atlanta where they dropped two of three. They avoided the sweep with a 4-3 win on Sunday that featured a complete game from Sandy Alcantara. The righty went the distance while allowing 3 unearned runs on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. It was Alcantara’s fourth complete game of his career, all of which have come since 2019.
Upcoming games- Two in Tampa Bay followed by three in Atlanta
Washington Nationals
The Nats dropped two of three on the road to Miami to begin their schedule. The lone win was a 5-4 extra innings win in the finale of the series that featured Keibert Ruiz getting on base five total times. The 23-year-old catcher went 3-3 with two doubles and walked twice in the contest. One of those doubles drove in the decisive run in the top of the tenth inning.
Washington avoided a sweep at the hands of the Brewers in Milwaukee with an 8-2 win on Sunday. The Nats scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning that propelled them to an 8-0 lead. Two of the runs were scored thanks to bunt singles from Dee Strange-Gordon and Cesar Hernandez.
