Standings

1st. New York Mets- 7-3

2nd. Atlanta Braves- 5-6 (2.5 GB)

3rd. Miami Marlins- 4-5 (2.5 GB)

4th. Philadelphia Phillies- 4-6 (3 GB)

5th. Washington Nationals- 4-7 (3 GB)

 

Recap

New York Mets

The Mets opened the year by taking three of four from the Nats on the road. Pete Alonso clubbed a grand slam in game three while Chris Bassett threw six innings of three hit ball enroute to a 5-0 win. New York’s bullpen finished off the shutout with three innings while allowing just one hit. 

They then traveled to Philadelphia where they took two of three. Their staff pitched another shutout in game two, this time with Tyler Megill leading the effort with 5.1 innings while allowing just three hits and no walks and striking out five. Megill and three relievers totaled 12 punch outs on the day. 

Finally, the Mets had their home opening series when they hosted the D-Backs. They took two of those three including a 10-3 win in the opener. Francisco Lindor homered twice in that game and has a 1.048 OPS through the first ten games of the season. That’s in stark contrast to 2021, when Lindor got off to a poor start with just a .530 OPS in the month of April and never really recovered. 

Upcoming games- Four at home against the Giants followed by three in Arizona

 

Atlanta Braves

The Braves opened their season by splitting a four-game series with the Reds at home. Kyle Wright threw six scoreless while allowing just two hits and a walk in a 2-1 win in game three. The former fifth overall pick had previously pitched to a 6.93 ERA in 14 career starts in the majors. 

Atlanta then dropped two of three at home to the Nats. The lone win was a 16-4 blowout. Marcel Ozuna hit two home runs and was one of four Braves players to total three hits as part of the 19 hit, 8 walk onslaught. 

They then went on their first road trip of the year with four in San Diego. The Braves split those four games, with both wins by identical 5-2 scores. Ozzie Albies had quite the series, homering in each of the first three games. Albies is hitting just .214 in the early going but has an OPS of .854. 

Upcoming games- Three in L.A. with the Dodgers followed by three at home with the Marlins

 

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies opened the season at home by taking two of three from the A’s. Their new offense was on full display in game one, as Kyle Schwarber hit a lead-off home run and Nick Castellanos added an RBI double. The pair of sluggers totaled 3 RBIs and combined to go 3-8 with a walk. 

Philadelphia then dropped two of three to the Mets after their bats fell silent. They did however win game one by erasing a 4-0 deficit with a five run eighth inning. A Rhys Hoskins double tied the game after a two-run home run from J.T. Realmuto put the Phillies on the board. Finally, Didi Gregorious added a double that drove in the winning run. 

They then traveled to their house of horrors in Miami and dropped three of four. Their lone win was a night their bats erupted to the tune of a 10-3 victory. Alec Bohm went 2-3 in the contest with two sacrifice flies and three total RBI. In limited playing time this season, Bohm is 7-11 (.636 AVG) with a 1.406 OPS. 

Upcoming games- Three in Colorado followed by three at home with the Brewers

 

Washington Nationals 

The Nats had a rough start to their season, as they dropped three of four to the Mets at home. They avoided the sweep with a three-run eighth inning in the final game to take a 4-2 lead. Nelson Cruz’ two-run single gave Washington the lead after a Lucius Fox sacrifice bunt tied the game at 2-2. Cruz knocked in three of the four total runs for the Nats, with the other coming on a home run earlier in the game. 

Washington then rebounded to take two of three on the road from the Braves. They pounded 15 hits in game one en route to a 11-2 blowout. Maikel Franco hit his first home run with his new team and finished 4-5 with five total RBIs. Meanwhile, Josh Rogers went 5.1 innings while allowing one run on two hits and two walks starting in place of the scratched Annibal Sanchez. 

The Nats stayed on the road for four in Pittsburgh. They dropped three of four, winning just the second game by a final of 7-2. Former Pirate MVP finalist Josh Bell went 2-4 in the contest with three RBIs. Bell is hitting .350 with a .994 OPS on the young season. 

Upcoming games- Seven game homestand starting with four against the Diamondbacks followed by three with the Giants 

 

Miami Marlins

 

The Marlins dropped two of three in San Francisco to open their season. Their lone win was a 2-1 contest in game two that featured four shutout innings from the Miami bullpen. Four Marlin relievers combined to allow just two hits and one walk while striking out eight in relief of Pablo Lopez. 

 

The Fish then dropped both games of a quick two game series in Anaheim against the Angels. A walk-off fielder’s choice from Max Stssi handed them a loss in game two after entering the ninth inning tied 3-3. A Jazz Chisholm two-run home run had tied the game in the seventh. 

 

Miami then played host for four with the Phillies. They took three of four, including an all-out blowout on Easter Sunday with an 11-3 final score. The Marlins totaled 13 hits in the contest and tagged Cy Young runner up Zack Wheeler for seven runs in just three innings. Jazz Chisholm was 2-4 with a double and a triple with three RBI. Chisholm was one of four Marlins with at least 2 RBI in the game. 

 

Upcoming games- Three at home with the Cardinals followed by three in Atlanta






RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR