Standings
1st. New York Mets- 85-50
2nd. Atlanta Braves- 84-51 (1 GB)
3rd. Philadelphia Phillies- 73-61 (11.5 GB, +2.5 in WC)
4th. Miami Marlins- 55-78
5th. Washington Nationals- 47-87
Recap
New York Mets
The Mets took two of three from the Dodgers at home in a battle of two of the NL’s best records. Chris Bassitt’s quality start on Thursday helped secure the series win. Bassitt went six innings and limited the Dodgers’ high-powered offense to just two runs on six hits and three walks. A Francisco Lindor double tied the game in the sixth before RBIs from Darin Ruf, Brandon Nimmo, and Starling Marte gave the Mets a cushion in the 5-2 win.
The momentum did not carry over for New York however, as they dropped two of three at home to the Nats. They won the opener of the series by a score of 7-3 powered by home runs from Eduardo Escobar and Pete Alonso. Escobar’s two-run blast opened the scoring in the first while Alonso’s solo shot gave the Mets a 4-3 lead in the sixth that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Upcoming games- Three in Pittsburgh followed by three in Miami
Atlanta Braves
The Braves opened the week by taking two of three from the Rockies at home. Spencer Strider dazzled in the finale, a 3-0 Braves win. The 23-year-old threw eight shutout innings and struck out 16 with no walks and just two hits. It was the second most strikeouts in a game in Braves history and first game with at least 15 since John Smoltz in 2002. Warren Spahn holds the Braves record with 18 Ks in a start in June of 1952.
Atlanta then swept out the Marlins at home to close the gap for first place in the division. They set the tone for the series early with an 8-1 win in the opener. They blasted five home runs in the game, including two from Travis d’Arnaud. It was d’Arnaud’s sixth career multi-home run game and second this season.
Upcoming games- Two in Oakland followed by three in Seattle
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies started a disastrous West Coast trip by dropping two of three to the Diamondbacks in Arizona. In a series that featured all blowouts, the Phillies got theirs with an 18-2 win in the finale. Every starter in the lineup had at least two hits as the team combined for 24 hits overall. Bailey Falter cruised on the mound with 6.1 IP and one run allowed on five hits with 6 K’s.
Philadelphia ended its brutal trip out West by getting swept by the Giants in three games. J.T. Realmuto’s game-tying three-run home run in the eighth on Sunday made it appear maybe the Phillies could salvage a game. But David Robertson allowed a two-run, walk-off home run to Wilmer Flores in the ninth in his second inning of work.
Upcoming games- Six game homestand starting with three against the Marlins followed by three with the Nats
Miami Marlins
Miami started a rough week by dropping the final game of a four-game series with the Dodgers before getting swept by the Rays at home in two games. A Manuel Margot single in the top of the 10th on Wednesday gave the Rays a 2-1 lead before Jalen Beeks pitched a perfect bottom half of the inning to finish the sweep.
The Marlins were then swept again by the Braves to push their losing streak to seven games. Max Fried held them hitless through five innings in Atlanta on Sunday before rain forced him out of the game. Nevertheless, Miami could only manage one run on three hits while the Braves pounded out 7 runs on nine hits.
Upcoming games- Three in Philadelphia followed by three at home with the Mets
Washington Nationals
The Nats started a strong week by taking two of three from the A’s at home. Joey Meneses blasted a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the tenth to give Washington a 7-5 win in the finale. The blast capped off a four-run rally that started with an RBI single from Keibert Ruiz. Menesses, a 30-year-old rookie, is hitting .327 with 7 home runs and a .927 OPS in 28 games this season.
Washington then shocked the Mets by taking two of three in New York, both of which by 7-1 scores. Patrick Corbin earned his second consecutive win with 7 IP and one run allowed in Saturday’s victory. It was the first time Corbin pitched at least seven innings since July 4th and only his seventh quality start of the season.
