N.L. East Weekly Review: Braves Push Winning Streak to 11 While Phillies, Marlins Have Theirs Snapped

Standings

1st. New York Mets- 40-22

2nd. Atlanta Braves- 34-27 (5.5 GB)

3rd. Philadelphia Phillies- 30-30 (9 GB)

4th. Miami Marlins- 27-31 (11 GB)

5th. Washington Nationals- 23-39 (17 GB)

Recap

New York Mets

The Mets dropped two of three on the road in San Diego to start their week’s slate. They were outscored 20-2 in the two losses but won the first game 11-5. Eduardo Escobar became the first Mets player to hit for the cycle since Scott Hairston in 2012. Escobar went 4-6 and tallied 6 total RBIs in the contest en route to the feat. Meanwhile one the mound, Carlos Carrasco collected his 7th win which put him in a five-way tie for the N.L. lead and places him one behind the MLB leader Justin Verlander. 

New York then finished their road trip by taking two of three from the Angels in Anaheim. They clinched the series with a 4-1 win on Sunday Night Baseball behind a strong start from Taijuan Walker. The right hander fanned 10 over six innings while allowing one run on six hits and a walk. Edwin Diaz struck out five of the six batters he faced to notch a five-out save. 

Upcoming games- Six game homestand split between three with the Brewers and three with the Marlins

Atlanta Braves

The Braves finished the week undefeated and stretched their win streak to 11. First, they swept out the A’s in a quick two game series. They blasted four home runs in the second game enroute to a 13-2 thrashing of Oakland. Austin Riley led the way with his 15th home run, a two run blast, and an RBI single in the seventh for three total RBIs. 

Atlanta then swept the Pirates in four games to extend the streak, capped off by a two-home run day from Adam Duvall on Sunday. The Braves once again totaled four home runs in the 5-3 lead, with Duvall smacking a solo shot and a two-run blast. Duvall now has four home runs over his last seven games after having just two in his previous 52 games this season. 

Upcoming games- Three in Washington followed by three at Wrigley with the Cubs

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies continued their winning ways by sweeping the Brewers on the road in Milwaukee. Alec Bohm and Matt Vierling both homered off of Josh Hader in game one to send the Phillies to a 3-2 win. They were the first home runs Hader had allowed in almost a calendar year and the first time he allowed two home runs in a game since 2020. 

Philadelphia finally had their nine-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday however, with a 13-1 drubbing from the Diamondbacks. Nevertheless, the Phillies did take the series from Arizona, Rhys Hoskins homered twice in the opening game, a 7-5 win on Friday night. Hoskins has an OPS of 1.159 over his last seven games with 4 home runs. 

Upcoming games- Three at home with Miami followed by five in four days at Washington

Miami Marlins

The Marlins started a modest win streak of their own with a three-game sweep of the Nationals at home to start their week. They homered four times in the opening game to power themselves to a 12-2 victory over Washington. Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered twice and drove in a career high 6 RBIs in the win while Edward Cabrera went six innings while allowing one run on just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. 

Miami’s win streak ultimately ended at five after dropping their finale to the Astros in Houston. They still managed to take the first two games, including game one in a 7-4 win where they homered four times. Chisholm had another two-homer game and was joined in doing so by Jesús Aguilar. The pair combined for the four long balls and six RBIs on four total hits. 

Upcoming games- Three in Philadelphia followed by four in New York with the Mets

Washington Nationals

The Nats were swept by the Marlins to start their week. They wasted a strong pitching performance in the second game, as Josiah Gray went five shutout innings and was followed by scoreless appearances from Steve Cishek and Carl Edwards Jr.. However, Sandy Alcantara was better, throwing nine shutout innings in the scoreless game before Miami walked it off in the tenth off Tanner Rainey to capture a 2-1 win. 

Washington rebounded to take two of three from the Brewers at home, including an 8-6 win on Saturday that featured three straight home runs. Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Bell went back-to-back-to-back in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a brutal start in April, Cruz is now hitting .400 in June with a 1.191 OPS. Three of his seven home runs on the season have come in the last ten days.

Upcoming games- Long home stand starting with three against the Braves followed by five with Philadelphia