NL East Report: Surging Braves Extend Division Lead to 6.5 Games
Team News and Notes
Atlanta Braves (46-32)
The Atlanta Braves came into Sunday red hot having won eight of their last 10 games. This current surge has seen them extend their first place lead to six games up on the struggling Phillies.
The Bravos recently added highly touted free agent starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who made his first start of the season against the rejuvenated Washington Nationals. Unfortunately, Keuchel’s debut did not go as planned as he surrendered four runs (three earned) in five innings. The left-hander only recorded three strike outs and allowed a home run, while hitting two batters.
Despite a rocky first start, the team’s hope is that pairing Keuchel in their rotation with youngsters Max Fried (8-3, 4.03 ERA, 1.343 WHIP), Mike Soroka (8-1, 2.07 ERA, 0.983 WHIP) and Julio Tehran ( 5-5, 3.40 ERA, 1.260 WHIP) will provide stability within their staff.
The club’s biggest concern at the moment comes from the closer spot at the moment. As of now, right-handed reliever Luke Jackson is pitching the ninth inning, but already has six blown saves on the season.
Look for the Braves to try and acquire a closer via trade as the July trade deadline ticks closer. Besides this blip, the bullpen has been solid overall receiving contributions from former Met reliever Anthony Swarzak (0.66 ERA, 0.805 WHIP), lefty Sean Newcomb (2.12 ERA, 1.382 WHIP), and right-hander Jacob Webb (4-0, 1.35 ERA, 1.088 WHIP).
As for the offense, coming into the series against the Mets a week ago, the Braves had scored an astounding 90 runs in 11 games.
Rookie sensation Austin Riley has been at the center of this tear since making his major league debut in May. Riley is slashing a more than impressive .291/.345/.619 to go along with 12 home runs and 34 RBI.
The young duo of Ozzie Albies (.282/.343/.465, 11 home runs and 40 RBI) and Ronald Acuna Jr.(.289/.371/.498, 17 homers 49 RBI) have followed up their strong rookie years’ with impressive sophomore campaigns at the plate.
While Dansby Swanson‘s breakout year continues (.260/325/.462 13 homers 43 RBI), the Braves lineup has also been complemented by veterans Freddie Freeman (.314/.401/.605 21 homers 56 RBI), Josh Donaldson (.265/.370/.498, 14 homers 36 RBI), and Nick Markakis (.274/.316/.418, 6 homers 41 RBI).
The Braves are even receiving production from their catchers on the offensive side, too. In split time, veteran backstops’ Brian McCann (.289/.358/.492, 7 homers 29 RBI) and Tyler Flowers (.263/.344/.459, 6 homers 14 RBI) have more than pulled their own weight.
Philadelphia Phillies (39-38)
After getting embarrassingly swept by the last place Marlins at home over the weekend, the Phillies have now lost seven straight and are 6-16 in their last 22. They are also now six games back of the Braves and only a game up on the Nationals for second place.
Philly was swept out of D.C. last week, as well by the surging Nationals, which as a result now sees them only a game over .500 following the Marlins series.
The Phillies are a group that has been decimated by injuries this season, specifically in the bullpen. The team’s top bullpen acquisition from this offseason Dave Robertson has only pitched in seven games for the team this year due to a flexor stain in his pitching elbow.
They are also missing Victor Arano, Seranthony Domínguez, and are now down another reliever after losing Pat Neshek to a hamstring injury last week.
Neshek is just the latest injury to the Phillies pitching staff that now has Jerad Eickhoff on the shelf with bicep tendinitis, too. The club’s rotation has underachieved, as well particularly the top two starters in Aaron Nola (6-2, 4.55 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.449 WHP) and Jake Arrietta (6-6, 4.12 ERA, 5.01 FIP, 1.385 WHIP).
The outfield has also suffered significant losses following the injury to Andrew McCutchen, who suffered a torn acl. The Phillies are currently without centerfielder Odubel Herrera, as well due to his mainstay on administrative leave amid domestic violence allegations, where he shall stay for the time being.
On the offensive side, star studded outfielder Bryce Harper has not played up to expectations after signing a $330 million dollar deal in the offseason with the Phils. While he may be starting to swing the bat a bit better as of late, Harper is still only slashing a mere .242/.355./.448 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI.
The Phils lineup has been led by catcher J.T. Realmuto (.265/.323/.426, 10 home runs, 36 RBI) and Mets’ foe Rhys Hoskins (.272/.398/.517, 15 home runs, 49 RBI). Their middle infielders in Jean Segura (.269/.319/.432) and Cesar Hernandez (.268/.326/.424) have been solid, as well.
In addition to the regulars, the Phillies have received production off their bench from utility man Scott Kingery (.336/.377/.650, 9 home runs, 22 RBI) and newly acquired Mariners outfielder Jay Bruce (.314/.352/.706, 6 home runs, 15 RBI).
Washington Nationals (37-39)
The Washington Nationals have been on a roll lately snatching third place away from the Mets in the past two weeks. The Nats swept away the second place Phillies last week and are now only two games below .500 after once being 10 plus under.
The team has won six of their last 10 games to climb back into the race. They can most likely attest this run to the fact that they are now back to full strength health wise for virtually the first time all season.
The Nats top three starters in the rotation have turned it on lately, especially their ace Max Scherzer (6-5, 2.62 ERA, 2.08 FIP, 1.063 WHIP). Scherzer broke his nose bunting in batting practice on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop him from making his next start. On the very next night, Scherzer came out with a black eye and tossed an impressive seven scoreless, with 10 strikeouts in a 2-0 win.
Stephen Strasburg (8-4, 3.79 ERA, 1.078 WHIP) and Patrick Corbin (6-5, 3.90 ERA, 1.202 WHIP) have been more than serviceable on the team’s staff up to this point in the season.
Unfortunately, the bullpen is still a train wreck with the exception of closer Sean Doolittle (4-2, 16 saves, 3.23 ERA, 1.272 WHIP). If the Nats are to complete this turnaround, their relievers will need to turn it around, specifically free agent acquisition Tony Sipp, who holds a 4.80 ERA and 1.400 WHIP.
The club’s offense is led by slugging third basemen Anthony Rendon ( .313/.405/.647, 17 home runs, 52 RBI) and second year outfielder Juan Soto (.300/.399/.517, 11 homers, 43 RBI). Utility man and veteran infielder Howie Kendrick is also having a stellar year at the dish with a .337/.388/.596 slash line to go along with 12 home runs and 43 RBI.
New York Mets (37-41)
While it seemed like the Mets were about to offer a glimmer of hope by taking three-out-of-four against the Chicago Cubs, Mickey Callaway was at it again with his poor bullpen management.
Seth Lugo had thrown over 20 pitches in two innings on Friday, but alas was pushed again to multiple innings and 42 pitches yesterday. Instead of bringing in Edwin Diaz for a five out save, who had not thrown since Friday’s 12 pitch save, Callaway stuck with Lugo, who clearly didn’t have control of his breaking stuff.
This questionable move ultimately came back to bite Callaway, as Lugo surrendered the go-ahead three run homer to Javier Baez, which resulted in a series split instead of a victory. After the game, Callaway was adamant about their unwillingness to use Diaz for more than four outs, but as a result was the sole reason the Mets were once again unable to finish off a series win.
What’s even more disappointing is the Mets once again wasted another quality start from Jacob deGrom and blew another win for the ace. deGrom has now allowed two runs or less in his last seven starts.
This four game set also comes in the wake of the firing of pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez on Thursday. As a result, the team filled these voids promoting 82-year-old Phil Regan to pitching coach and former bullpen coach Ricky Bones back to his original role.
Regan served the last 10 years in the Mets organization as St.Lucie’s pitching coach (2009-2015) and assistant minor league pitching coordinator (2016-2019). The crafty veteran has not only worked with, but was at the center of development for the various talented arms that have come through the Mets minor league system over the past decade.
Regan had his own success as a pitcher back in the day recording a career 3.84 ERA with 92 saves, as a closer. He was also teammates with Sandy Koufax from 1966-68 and served as the closer for Miracle Mets pennant rival 1969 Cubs.
Regan He has worked with and contributed to the development of this current staff in the minor leagues over recent years. They also promoted single-A pitching coach Ricky Bones back into his former role of bullpen coach on the big league club.
Regan’s presence may have already been felt, as struggling closer Edwin Diaz looked sharp in his lone save chance on Friday. Diaz hurled 12 pitches and recorded two strikeouts in what was arguably his cleanest inning as a Met. The hope is that these changes in coaching can turnaround what has been a disappointing season thus far with an underachieving pitching staff.
The Mets defense has been another consistent issue in 2019. The club has made a horridly astounding 57 errors thus far, which is good for the most in the National League. They also have allowed over 50 negative defensive runs saved on the year.
The struggling bullpen has been better over the past week since a 12-3 shellacking in Atlanta last Monday night. Brooks Pounders has been impressive so far tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Chris Flexen has also shown off his stuff since converting to a reliever, including a 98 mph fastball. Flexen pitched a total of four innings only allowing one run against the Braves and Cubs over the past week.
Wilmer Font has been stellar out of the pen, as well. Font holds a 3.86 ERA and 1.329 WHIP, but holds a sub-two ERA as a reliever since being moved into the bullpen in mid May.
The team also called up flame thrower Stephen Nogosek, who showed potential topping out at 97 mph. If Diaz can get right, and these other reinforcements can become reliable options behind Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo, who holds a sub two ERA since May, the NL’s worst bullpen may be salvageable after all.
As for the offense, Pete Alonso continues to showcase his power and take names in his eye opening rookie campaign. On Sunday, Alonso smashed his 27th home run of the year to break Darryl Strawberry‘s Met rookie record and Cody Bellinger‘s pre-All Star break rookie home run record.
Jeff McNeil has been almost equally impressive slashing .342/.407/.494. Despite somehow only being ranked seventh in the All-Star voting at his position, McNeil’s .341 average is good for third best in the league. McNeil is also riding a five game multi hit streak and now has 48 in the first 126 games of his career.
Michael Conforto is quietly posting a more than solid season with 15 homers and 38 RBI, while slashing .258/.378/.504. Dominic Smith‘s breakout year has continued on, as he is hitting .326/.423/.526 with four homers and 10 RBI.
The Mets have a critical four game series starting tonight in Philadelphia against the Phillies. With both teams hovering around .500, this series can make or break either club and will most likely determine whether the Mets will be buyers or sellers next month.
Miami Marlins (30-46)
Despite losing eight of 10 games to kick off June, the Miami Marlins had a great week going 5-2. This stretch included a very impressive four game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.
23-year-old pitcher Jordan Yamamoto was stellar again on Sunday winning the third straight start of his young career. Yamamoto went five innings allowing only two runs with seven strikeouts. The righty is 3-0 and has not allowed a run in the first 19 innings of his career.
What’s been even more impressive about this recent stretch is that the Marlins roster is quite banged up at the moment. Some of their main contributors are currently on the shelf in ace pitcher Caleb Smith (hip), catcher Jorge Alfaro (concussion), utility man Martin Prado (hamstring), and infielder Neil Walker (quad).
In spite of these injuries, the Marlins were still able to string across a more than solid week taking two-out of three against the Pittsburgh Pirates and splitting a four game set with the St.Louis Cardinals and then sweeping the second place Phillies, as previously mentioned.
Unfortunately this success does not look sustainable without their regulars due to the fact that their upcoming schedule does not get any easier. The Marlins next 15 games are against division foes, which will without a doubt be a tough task for the fish.
Although the Marlins aren’t playing for much, they have the opportunity to play the role of spoiler for the rest of their division foes by giving them a hard time over the next two weeks.
Injury Report
Braves: Kevin Gausman will miss an extender period of time with plantar faciitis. Sean Newcomb (concussion) has been placed on the seven-day IL. Ender Inciarte strained his lumbar and will be out until early July. Darren O’Day was moved to the 60-day IL with forearm tightness.
Phillies: Reliever Victor Arano moved to 60-day IL after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery, his timetable is still unknown. Seranthony Dominguez is also on IL with UCL damage in his elbow and is shutdown indefinitley. Jerad Eickhoff right bicep tendinitis no set timetable yet. Pat Neshek strained his hamstring. Dave Robertson was transferred to the 60-day IL with a grade one flexor strain in his right elbow.
Nationals: Kyle Barraclough (right radial nerve irritation in bicep) no timetable for return. Jeremy Hellickson is out until early July with right shoulder tendinitis. Ryan Zimmerman will remain on the shelf until early July, as well with plantar fasciitis.
Mets: Noah Syndergaard (hamstring) will miss another start on Tuesday, but isn’t expected to miss additional time besides his next turn in the rotation. Brandon Nimmo will be shut down for a month (bulging disc in neck). There’s no timetable for the return of Jeurys Familia, who landed on the IL with a bennett lesionin his throwing shoulder. Left-handed reliever Luis Avilan is set to start a rehab assignment this week, while Justin Wilson is expected to throw a bullpen soon.
Marlins: Jorge Alfaro (concussion) is out indefinitely. Neil Walker is out until early July with a quad injury. Caleb Smith has hip inflammation and won’t be back for a few weeks. Martin Prado suffered a hamstring injury and there is still no timetable for his return.
Upcoming Schedules
Braves: @cubs 6/24-27, @Mets 6/28-30
Phillies: Mets 6/24-27, @Marlins 6/28-30
Nationals: @Marlins 6/25-27, @Tigers 6/28-30
Mets: @Phillies 6/24-27, Braves 6/28-30
Marlins: Nationals 6/25-27, Phillies 6/28-30