Braves Move in to First Place After Mets' 6-4 Loss to Marlins

The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are now tied for the National League East division lead after the Mets fell to the Miami Marlins at home, 6-4, and the Braves came out on top of the Nationals in Washington D.C. Tuesday night.

The epic 2022 battle for the National League East opened a new chapter Tuesday night, as the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are now tied for the division lead with just seven games remaining in the regular season.

The Braves took care of business, winning Tuesday night's game in Washington D.C. 8-2 and handing the Washington Nationals their 101st loss of the season. The Braves improve to 97-58 on the season.

As the Braves beat an inferior team on the road, the Mets lost to an inferior team at home. Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco gave up four runs to the Miami Marlins in three innings on six hits and one walk, as the Mets fell to the Marlins 6-4.

The Mets are now 97-58, an identical record to the Braves' after 155 games.

The Mets will play another home game against the Marlins Wednesday night. The Braves will play the Nationals once more at Nationals Park Wednesday night, as well.

Both teams will have Thursday off, before beginning a pivotal three-game series in Atlanta with an NL East division title and first round bye on the line.

With Major League Baseball expanding its postseason to field 12 teams, there will be no more tiebreaker games, better known as 'game 163's. Thus, if the Mets and Braves tie for the division after 162 games, the division will go to the team with the better head-to-head record.

In order for the Braves to own the tiebreaker, they would need to sweep the Mets this weekend. The Mets would own the tiebreaker if they win just one game over the Braves in Atlanta this weekend.

If the Braves do not sweep the Mets this weekend, they will need to finish the season at least one game better than the Mets.

Tuesday's loss could end up being costly for the Mets. If the Braves take two of three this weekend and the two teams remain even with each other for the remainder of the season, the Braves would win the NL East. Now it appears both teams will need to win this weekend's series, which should make for a remarkable series. The action begins Friday at 7:20 p.m. ET.