2020 MLB Season: Simulating NL games, April 20-23

With baseball still on hiatus, we continue to simulate games for the 2020 MLB season. Here are the results for April 20-23 for the AL.

Is it possible that the Arizona Diamondbacks are for real?

The Diamondbacks have managed to deny the Los Angeles Dodgers their seeming birthright grasp on first place in the NL West since the start of the 2020 virtual season nearly a month ago. In this week’s mid-week games, they survived a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves in good enough shape to continue to hold off the Dodgers by a full game.

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Whether the NL West’s surprise leaders can continue to withstand the pressure being applied by the three-time defending National League champions remains to be seen, but the schedule gives them a chance. The two clubs have not yet met head to head, and won’t for another month.

While the D-Backs fended off Atlanta, the Dodgers did their part to keep the heat on, beating the defending NL champion Nationals two out of three in Washington.

In the NL Central, Cincinnati and St. Louis split a four-game, two-city series, the Cardinals retaining their one-game lead. In the East, Philadelphia swept a two-game interleague series against the Texas Rangers to extend its lead over the Braves by a game and a half. That lead now stands at four and one-half games.

San Diego’s Fernando Tatis returned from a week-long layoff due to an injury and reasserted his position atop the National League batting race. Tatis collected four hits in three games against the Chicago Cubs to finish the week at .408, six points ahead of Pittsburgh outfielder Bryan Reynolds. Arizona infielder Ketel Marte gives the National League three batters hitting above .400 coming up on the virtual season’s one-month mark.

Cody Bellinger homered once and drove in three runs against the Nationals, extending his lead in those two categories. He has 12 homers and 32 RBIs.

Miles Mikolas allowed two earned runs in six innings against the Reds Wednesday, allowing him to retain his lead in the ERA race at 1.17. San Diego’s Zach Davies is second at 1.24.  Teammate John Flaherty struck out nine Reds on Thursday and ran his season total in that category to a league-high 56 in 41 innings.