NL East still close after two months
The NL East race is the tightest in baseball and has not seen a team pull ahead or fall too far behind. Six games are all that separates the first and last place teams. While the Atlanta Braves are atop the division and were preseason favorites by many, the Miami Marlins are surprisingly in second place followed by the other favorites, the Washington Nationals. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are bringing up the rear, but are still within striking distance with the All-Star break still over a month away.
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta is in first place with a record of 31-25. They have a winning record at home and a .500 record on the road. The Braves rebounded after being swept by the Boston Red Sox in a home and home series (two home/two away) to sweep the Marlins on the road. Beating the Marlins at home has not been easy for opponents this season, and it was a much needed three victories to get Atlanta back on the right track.
It will be a short week for the Braves as they have Monday and Thursday off. They host the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday and Wednesday and then head to the west coast for a weekend series against the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks. Atlanta could very well be riding an eight-game winning streak heading into next week.
Justin Upton leads all qualified players with a .301 batting average and has a team-leading 13 home runs and 33 RBI. He also leads the team with 65 strikeouts, a number that is okay as long as he keeps his average up and power soaring high.
Newcomer Tommy La Stella has filled the offensive woes at second base so far. He is hitting .400 (6-15) through five games. His defense has looked iffy as he is getting used to his new teammates, but as long as he hits he will continue to be the present and future of the Braves at second base.
Julio Teheran (1.83), Ervin Santana (4.10), and Alex Wood (3.32) all have five wins under their belt so far. Aaron Harang (3.24) is right behind them with four. The starters have done a great job thus far and made up for the losses in spring training to Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy who both underwent Tommy John surgery. Craig Kimbrel is tied for sixth in the MLB with 15 saves on the season.
May 23, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder
Giancarlo Stanton(27) connects for a solo home run during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Miami Marlins
The Marlins continue to ride their home winning advantage as they sit in second place in the division. Their 20-11 home record at home is the best in baseball, although their 8-17 road record is still the worst in baseball. With more road victories, Miami could creep up into one of the two wild card spots or possibly overtake Atlanta at some point within the NL East.
Last week the Marlins won two games against the Nationals with a third game rained out and being made up in September. Miami then was swept at home by Atlanta, a rare occurrence this season for the Marlins. They failed to make a push for the division lead with the sweep, but are still only three games back as they sit at 28-28 overall.
Miami will play a home and home series against the Tampa Bay Rays starting on Monday. They host two games, then travel a few hours north to play at Tropicana Field for two games. The Marlins conclude the week with a road trip to Chicago to take on the last place Cubs. Miami could get back on track playing two struggling teams and keeping pace with Atlanta.
No surprises with Giancarlo Stanton – he has 16 home runs which is the third most in baseball and 51 RBI which is second most in baseball. Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson, and Edwin Encarnacion are the only hitters keeping pace with Stanton in those categories so far. Stanton also has 34 walks, tied for sixth in MLB. It is no surprise that teams do not want to pitch to Miami’s best hitter.
Cy Young candidate Jose Fernandez’s season may be over after Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago, but the Marlins have been able to keep pace without him. Nathan Eovaldi has a 4-2 record with a 3.24 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Mike Dunn and closer Steve Cishek both have four wins as well, a sign that the Marlins are able to come back late in the game. Cishek also has 11 saves, and Miami would like his saves to pile up more so than his win total to prevent late game drama.
The Marlins also have the second overall pick in the upcoming First-Year Player Draft. They have three of the top 43 choices and could find some talent to supplement the young core already in the big leagues. Miami received a compensatory first-round pick at 36 since they did not sign their 2013 pick in Matt Krook who failed his physical.
May 29, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets second baseman
Daniel Murphy(center) walks off the field with his teammates after a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
New York Mets
A good week for the Mets saw them take two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates and three of four from the Phillies. While the series against Philadelphia is technically over, they will have one more game on Monday with a makeup from April 30th.
After the makeup game, New York will travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs and then San Francisco to play the best team in baseball in the Giants. The Mets will need to play with some added intensity against the worst team in the NL Central and keep it rolling into their series with the NL West leader. New York has a chance to get above .500 and stay there once the week is through if they can win the games they are supposed to as well a game or two against a better opponent.
David Wright and Daniel Murphy are vying to be the Mets’ leading hitter. Wright has a .293 average with a team-leading 30 RBI. Murphy is hitting .291 with 14 doubles and 23 walks. They have been the most consistent hitters in the New York lineup and have played in the most games of any Mets’ players as well.
The free agent signing of Bartolo Colon has not panned out as well as New York would have hoped. The 2013 all-star is 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA and is giving up a batting average of .286 to opponents. Instead, the Mets most consistent starter has been Jon Niese who is 3-3 with a 2.69 ERA. He is limiting opposing hitters to a .238 average and has logged 70.1 innings of work, most on the New York pitching staff.
Juan Lagares was sent back to the disabled list on Monday as the team recalled Matt den Dekker to fill the void on the roster. den Dekker was optioned to Triple-A just hours earlier to make room for extra pitching after the Mets needed arms following two 14-inning games. Largares was hitting .288 with 11 doubles.
May 29, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder
Marlon Byrd(3) hits a home run in the seventh inning of a game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Phillies
It is no fun being in last place, but that is where the Phillies find themselves. The good news is that they are only six games out of first in the tight race of the NL East. Philadelphia won a series and lost a series last week as they dropped three of four to the Mets. The Phillies were able to win two games against the Colorado Rockies though.
Philadelphia will play one more game with the Mets, a makeup game from earlier in the season. Then they start a six-game road trip to take on the Nationals and Cincinnati Reds. Washington is 16-15 at home, Cincinnati is 12-12 at home, and Philadelphia is 12-12 on the road, so it is anyone’s guess as to who will win those games this week. The Phillies can ill afford to go on a losing streak if they want to stay in contention in the division.
Chase Utley continues to be one of the best hitters in baseball this season boasting a .320 batting average. He has a league-leading 22 doubles with only four home runs, but he may need to start hitting some balls out of the park to give the Phillies some more run support. A surprise player continues to be Marlon Byrd, as he has 17 doubles, eight home runs, and 32 RBI. Byrd has never been an elite player, but he has been a critical part of the Philadelphia offense so far this season.
The only Philadelphia pitcher with at least four wins is Cliff Lee. The former all-star has a 3.18 ERA with 61 strikeouts but has an opposing batting average of .287. Cole Hamels has yet to really find his best stuff as he sits at 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA. Jonathan Papelbon is 13 of 14 in save opportunities this year (including his walk-off walk vs the Texas Rangers earlier this year) and has yet to give up a home run. The bullpen isn’t awful, but it’s lack of run support are probably why the Phillies are struggling to get to the .500 mark on the season.
May 30, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher
Stephen Strasburg(37) pitches during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Nationals
Washington lost two games to the Marlins (one rescheduled at a later date) and then won two of three from the Texas Rangers. They are 3-7 in their last ten games and need to start winning more series to keep pace with Atlanta and Miami.
The Nationals have an off day on Monday. They then take on the Phillies at home and the San Diego Padres on the road. Philadelphia is in last place in the NL East, and San Diego is in next to last place in the NL West. It is a good chance for Washington to get back above the .500 mark and possibly into second place in the division.
Injuries have plagued the Washington roster this year, as Bryce Harper is out until July, and Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Zimmerman are still on the DL. Other players have seen DL stints as well. Only Jayson Werth, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, and Anthony Rendon have appeared in more than 50 games this season for the Nationals. There have definitely been a plethora of lineups used so far, but Washington needs to get its stars healthy and playing as a unit again if they want to be playing in the post season.
Adam LaRoche is bating a team-leading .321 including 23 walks. Werth is having a productive year at .290 with nine doubles and 22 RBI. Denard Span is leading the team with eight steals, but nobody else has more than four. Washington needs to either be putting runners in motion or hitting more balls out of the park to find some sparks in lieu of their battered lineup.
Washington’s poster pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, is tied for fourth in the league with 90 strikeouts and has 10.90 strikeouts per nine innings. His record is only 4-4 but Strasburg has a 3.15 ERA which is best among Nationals’ starters. Closer Rafael Soriano is 1-0 with 11 saves and a 0.82 ERA. He is giving up only a .176 BA to opponents and is one of the bright spots this season on the Washington pitching staff.