NL East Weekly Review: 7/12-7/21

Standings

1st- Atlanta Braves- 60-41

2nd- Washington Nationals- 52-46, 6.5 games back

3rd- Philadelphia Phillies- 52-48, 7.5 games back 

4th- New York Mets- 45-54. 14.5 games back

5th- Miami Marlins- 36-61, 22.5 games back

Recap

PHILLIES

The Phillies came out of the All Star Break with two critical series back-to-back. They dropped the first series, losing two to the Nationals and narrowly avoiding a sweep thanks to Maikel Franco’s walk off home run in the third game. 

But, after getting embarrassed by the Dodgers in the first game of the series 16-2, the Phils were able to pull off a split. Bryce Harper was a huge catalyst in the series, hitting a walk-off double to cap off a ninth inning comeback following Hector Neris’ allowing a three run home run. On Thursday, Harper again hit a clutch double and was a huge factor in a four run seventh inning to bring the Phillies from behind for the win.

The Phillies then went out to Pittsburgh for the battle of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia claimed the series victory after Rhys Hoskins gave them the lead with his 21st home run of the season in the 11th inning on Sunday. 

Newly signed starter Drew Smyly went six innings while striking out 8 and allowing 1 run on four hits. The Phils’ bullpen combined for five shutout innings capped off by Ranger Suarez’s two inning effort. Suarez has allowed one earned run over his last 12 innings pitched. 

Upcoming games- Two in Detroit against the Tigers, followed by three at home against the Braves.

BRAVES

Atlanta came out of the break with a four game winning streak, sweeping three from the Padres in San Diego and winning the first against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Josh Donaldson hit three home runs against the Padres, and starter Mike Soroka improved to 10-1 on the season with seven shutout innings in the third game of the series.

The Braves then dropped a series against the Brewers, winning just the first game. Christian Yelich homered twice off of the Braves in the series, one coming in a 13-1 blowout. 

Atlanta then came home for four against the Nats. The Braves were able to earn a series split on Sunday thanks to Kevin Gausman’s seven innings of one run ball.

Upcoming games- Two at home against the Royals, followed by three in Philadelphia. 

NATIONALS

Washington came out of the break taking two of three from the Phillies. The first game, a 4-0 shutout, featured six innings from Stephen Strasburg with 6 strikeouts and 7 hits allowed.

Washington then split two games with their Beltway rivals, the Orioles. The Nats combined for 12 hits in their win, an 8-1 victory that featured home runs from Matt Adams and Juan Soto. 

The Nats continued their post-break road trip with four in Atlanta that resulted in a split. The first game, a 13-4 win, saw pitcher Strasburg go 3-3 at the plate with 5 RBIs. 

Upcoming games- Long home stand starting with four against the Rockies and three against the Dodgers. 

METS

The Mets came out of the break taking two of three from the Marlins. Robinson Cano homered in each win, notching just his fifth and sixth home runs of the season. 

New York then took both games of a two game set against the Twins, outscoring Minnesota 17-6 combined. The Mets hit three home runs in the second game, the third of which coming from Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso, his 31st of the season. 

The team then traveled to San Francisco, where they dropped two of three. New York lost the rubber match on Sunday 3-2 in the 12th inning after Giants outfielder Mike Yastremski hit a walk-off home run, powering the Giants to a 14-3 record in July.

Upcoming games- Six games at home with the first three against the Padres and the next three against the Pirates. 

MARLINS

Miami won their first game out of the break before ultimately losing the next two to the Mets. The Marlins homered three times in their win, an 8-4 victory. First baseman Garret Cooper was one of the three homers, hitting his 9th and raising his average to .311 by going 2-4 on the day.

The Fish then took two of three from the Padres. The rubber match of the series was a 4-3 Marlins win. Brian Anderson hit an RBI double in the ninth, giving Miami a walk-off victory. 

One of the worst teams in the NL then matched up for three games against the best team in the NL when the Marlins went west for three against the Dodgers. And, predictably, they got swept. And were shutout in the final game 9-0. 

Upcoming games- Three on the South Side against the White Sox, followed by three at home against the Diamondbacks.