The Morning Meeting: The NL East Race Got a Bit Tighter Over the Weekend

The Philadelphia Phillies can't seem to gain much ground on the Atlanta Braves despite their winning streak

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

What a weekend in the NL East - lots of wins and positive movements on run differential (not you, Miami). 

Let's look at what each team did over the weekend, where they currently stand in the division as of this morning, and what today's game has in store. It's The Morning Meeting!

Who is winning the National League East right now?

(divisional standings as of April 22nd)
Braves - 14-6 (.700), -- GB, +35 run diff
Phillies - 14-8 (.636), 1.0 GB, +11 run diff
Mets - 12-9 (.571), 2.5 GB, +11 run diff
Nationals - 10-11 (.476), 4.5 GB, -9 run diff
Marlins - 6-17 (.261), 9.5 GB, -38 run diff

Life has to be frustrating for the Philadelphia Phillies - they've won six straight and yet only gained a game in the standings, as Atlanta won five out of six, and also can't gain any ground on the Mets, as New York and Philly both went 8-2 in their last ten games.

Game recaps from the weekend

Atlanta Braves 

The Braves won two out of three against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers at home, getting vintage pitching performances out of veterans Chris Sale (7IP w/ 3ER) and Charlie Morton (6IP w/ 2ER). 

Marcell Ozuna’s MLB-leading hitting streak was stopped at seventeen games with a hitless night on Saturday, but the slugger promptly went deep for a three-run homer on Sunday night to retake sole possession of the homer lead (with nine) and RBI lead (with 27) over Angels OF Mike Trout. First baseman Matt Olson, however, is mired in a 1-20 slump at the plate and has struck out seventeen times in his last thirty-seven at-bats.   

Philadelphia Phillies 

Philly swept the Chicago White Sox at home over the weekend, giving them a six-game win streak. All three starters notched wins, with Zack Wheeler taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning. 

Trea Turner was the offensive performer of the weekend for Philly, picking up multiple hits in two of the three games and finishing 6-13 with five runs, three RBIs, and a stolen base. Nick Castellanos, on the flip side, sandwiched a 3-3 Saturday with two hitless days to bring his season stat line to a paltry .177/.244/.203. 

Miami Marlins

Good weekend for the Marlins! They split their four games with the Chicago Cubs to avoid losing a series for the first time this season. Bryan De La Cruz was the big hero of the weekend, hitting a clutch ninth-inning homer in game one of the Saturday doubleheader and finishing the weekend with two longballs and four RBIs. 

The offense continues to be a problem for this team, with only 3.8 runs per game over the weekend and as many strikeouts (33) as hits (33). But three of the four Miami starters kept the team in it, with only A.J. Puk (who is now on the injured list with “shoulder fatigue”) digging the offense too deep of a hole to conceivably dig out of. 

New York Mets

If you had New York heading into Los Angeles and taking two out of three from the Dodgers, you’re either a wizard or a liar. Only a Sunday shutout/blowout loss kept New York from a positive run differential on the weekend, but it’s an impressive performance all the same.  

Washington Nationals

The Nationals got beat up by the returning Justin Verlander on Friday night, but walked off the Astros on Saturday and cruised on Sunday to a series win. CJ Abrams went 4-13 with a double, triple, homer, and five runs scored, while there were some pretty good pitching performances on all three days - Mitchell Parker gave Washington seven shutout innings on Sunday with only three hits and eight strikeouts, walking none, in the easy Sunday win. 

MVP's for the weekend

Hitter: Philly’s Trea Turner - 6-13, 2 2B, 5 Rs, 3 RBIs, 1 SB
Pitcher: Philly’s Zack Wheeler - 7.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 2B to 8Ks

Who's playing today?

Four of the five teams are in action, while Washington gets the day off as they travel back from Los Angeles. 

Philly (Suárez) @ CIN (Greene) - 6:40 PM ET
Miami (Weathers) @ Atlanta (Elder) - 7:20 PM ET
New York (Quintana) @ SFG (Winn) - 9:45 PM ET

Enjoy the games, everyone.