The Morning Meeting: Some Big Wins in the NL East on Wednesday

The National League East went four for five, knocking off some quality opponents in the process

Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs to lift the Phillies to victory over the Colorado Rockies. / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Great Wednesday in the NL East - The division once again went four for five, with only the Miami Marlins unable to put one in the win column! There were some loud performances last night, with the Philadelphia Phillies launching several bombs, the Atlanta Braves winning in extras, the Washington Nationals notching the upset, and the New York Mets cruising to a win. 

Let's look at what each team did yesterday, 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 18th)
Braves - 12-5 (.706), -- GB, +98 run diff
Phillies - 11-8 (.579), 2.0 GB, -6 run diff
Mets - 10-8 (.556), 2.5 GB, +14 run diff
Nationals - 8-10 (.444), 4.5 GB, -14 run diff
Marlins - 4-15 (.211), 9.0 GB, -35 run diff

Game recaps from Wednesday

Atlanta Braves 

The 9th inning Braves showed up early, as Atlanta scored multiple runs in the 8th to send the game to extras and then knocked off the Houston Astros 5-4 to sweep the series from Minute Maid Park.  

Max Fried didn’t look completely like himself, walking four and getting only two strikeouts in his five innings, but Orlando Arcia continues to be one of the best bargains in baseball, going 2-4 with the game-winning RBI to raise his average to a team-leading .377 while making only $2M this season. Marcell Ozuna also extended his MLB-best hit streak to 16 games and is tied with Mike Trout for the MLB homer lead with eight.  

Philadelphia Phillies 

Philly strangely had to sweat one out against the Colorado Rockies at home, winning 7-6, despite Kyle Schwarber launching two bombs and Schwarber and Trea Turner going back-to-back early. 

Christopher Sánchez dominated, allowing only one unearned run in six innings, but the bullpen gave that back when Gregory Soto gave up five runs in the 8th inning, recording only one out. The bullpen continues to be a sore topic for Philly in the early going. 

Miami Marlins

Speaking of the bullpen being a sore spot, the Marlins rallied to tie it up but couldn’t push through against the Giants bullpen (while their own allowed two late runs) as Miami dropped the rubber game with the Giants 3-1 to drop the series. 

The Marlins offense, picking up only six hits in the game, continues to spoil good starts by the pitching staff - this one was 5.2 innings of one-run ball from Trevor Rogers in a no-decision. 

New York Mets

I honestly don’t really know how New York continues to do this, but they beat the Pirates in convincing fashion 9-1. It’s been a quiet start for three of the Mets big four hitters - Pete Alonso’s batting a typical .261, but Francisco Lindor (.151), Jeff McNeil (.218) and Brandon Nimmo (.217) continue to underperform. 

This one can be chalked up to some bottom-of-the-lineup magic - Tyrone Taylor, Harrison Bader, and Zach Short combined for three runs and four RBIs - and surprisingly solid pitching, with Luis Severino allowing only one unearned run in six innings and the bullpen allowing no baserunners across the final three frames. 

Washington Nationals

The Nationals locked up the series victory with a tense 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA, scoring twice in the first and then shutting down the Dodgers lineup. Both Freddie Freeman (0-3, BB) and Mookie Betts (0-4) were kept off the board as Jake Irvin and three relievers combined to allow only five hits, with three going to Shohei Ohtani. 

MVP's for Wednesday

Hitter: Philly’s Kyle Schwarber - 2-5, 2 HR, 2R, 3 RBIs
Pitcher: Philly’s Christopher Sánchez - 6IP, 5H, 1R (unearned), 1BB to 10 Ks. 

Who's playing today?

Quiet day in the division, with only one game from the NL East and five games total across MLB. 

Miami (Puk) @ CHC (Taillon) - 2:20 PM ET

Enjoy the games, everyone.