Standings
1st. New York Mets- 58-35
2nd. Atlanta Braves- 56-38 (2.5 GB)
3rd. Philadelphia Phillies- (8.5 GB)
4th. Miami Marlins- 43-48 (14 GB)
5th. Washington Nationals- 31-63 (27.5 GB)
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Recap
New York Mets
The Mets took two of a crucial series in Atlanta to stave off the surging Braves. A three-run home run from Francisco Lindor in the top of the third off Charlie Morton broke open the rubber match of the series and powered the Mets to a 7-3 win. Chris Bassit tossed six innings of one run ball on the Mound while Lindor, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha all went deep.Â
New York then finished its first half schedule by taking three of four at Wrigley with the Cubs, including both games of a doubleheader. They opened the series with a dominating 8-0 win. Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo both homered and Carlos Carrasco threw six shutout innings before handing it off to Trevor Williams for the final three innings out of the bullpen.
Upcoming games- Five at home starting with three against the Padres followed by two with the Yankees
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Atlanta Braves
The Braves weren’t able to take advantage of a home series with the Mets as they dropped two of three. Their lone win was a 4-1 contest in the second game, powered by a pair of two-run home runs. Matt Olson gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead in the sixth before Adam Duvall’s shot added insurance in the seventh. Olson now has four home runs in the last six games after having just six long balls in all of June.Â
Atlanta then took advantage of four games in Washington by winning three against the lowly Nats. Austin Riley continued his torrid stretch of late with two home runs in the series to give him six in his last nine games. Over that span, Riley is hitting .368 with an OPS of 1.268. His solo shot on Sunday helped back a strong start from Max Fried who went seven innings while allowing 3 runs in a 6-3 win.
Upcoming games- Three at home with the Angels followed by three in Philadelphia
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Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies dropped both games of a quick two game series in Toronto with the Blue Jays which extended their losing streak to four. Zack Wheeler was roughed up in the second game for 6 runs on 7 hits in just 4.2 IP in an 8-2 loss. It was the second most runs Wheeler has given up in a start this season.Â
However, Philadelphia rebounded with a three-game sweep of the Marlins in Miami to head into the break. They held Miami scoreless in the final two games, with Aaron Nola delivering a gem on Sunday. Nola went 8.2 innings while allowing just four hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. The Phillies scored four runs in the fourth with two runs coming from a Yairo Munoz home run, and that was all Nola needed.Â
Upcoming games- Three with the Cubs followed by Three with Atlanta
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Miami Marlins
The Marlins split a four-game series at home with the Pirates to begin their last week before the break. A two-run triple from Brian Anderson triple in the bottom of the 11th walked it off for Miami in the final game of the series. Anderson’s heroics ensured a great pitching performance was not wasted. Braxton Garrett started for Miami and threw six scoreless with just two hits and two walks with 11 K’s.Â
Miami was then swept out by the Phillies at home to close the week. They managed to score just one run in the entire series on a sacrifice fly from Bryan De La Cruz in the bottom of the second in game one. The Marlins then proceeded to go 25 consecutive innings scoreless.Â
Upcoming games- Thursday at home with Texas for one game, then three in Pittsburgh followed by four in Cincinnati
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Washington Nationals
The Nats dropped both games of a doubleheader to the red-hot Seattle Mariners after a rainout on Tuesday. Jesse Winker returned from suspension for the Mariners and homered in both games of the twin bill, including a home run in the sixth in game two that broke a scoreless tie.Â
Washington then dropped three of four to the Braves at home to close their first half. They did manage to win the final game before the break by a final of 7-3. Victor Robles and Juan Soto both homered in the contest and Ehire Adrianza collected three RBIs while the Nats’ bullpen allowed three runs on six hits in nine innings for the game.Â
