NL East Division Odds: Braves and Phillies Battling at the All-Star Break

The National League East has seen some surprises so far this season. It looked like the Atlanta Braves would run away with the division before a turnaround in recent months by the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves and Phillies at the top aren’t too shocking, but the Marlins only being two games back of Philadelphia and four of Atlanta is. So is the New York Mets being in the basement.

Let’s take a look at the NL East division odds at the All-Star break.

NL East Odds at All-Star Break

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Atlanta Braves: -135
Philadelphia Phillies: +130
Miami Marlins: +1300
Washington Nationals: +7500
New York Mets: +25000

This is likely to be a two-horse race in the second half of the season, with all due respect to Miami.

The Braves got as big as a 10.5-game lead in the division after winning their fourth straight game to move to 36-16 on May 22. They held a 9.5-game lead as recently as June 7, thanks to another three-game winning streak to move to 45-21.

It’s been downhill since then for Atlanta, going just 10-19 in the month leading up to the All-Star break. Matt Olson is leading the way offensively with 25 home runs, and Chris Sale continues to be dominant with a 2.20 ERA. They’re going to need more than that to hold off the Phillies, though.

It looked like the Phillies were dead in the water in April. They lost their 10th straight game to fall to 8-18 on April 24, and they fired Rob Thomson a few days later. That helped spark a turnaround, as they’ve gone 45-24 under Don Mattingly after their 9-19 start.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are leading the way offensively, with Brandon Marsh having a breakout All-Star season. They’ve also gotten great pitching from Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesus Luzardo, and closer Jhoan Duran has been his dominant self.

The Marlins might be able to hang around, but it’s going to be tough for them to get past both the Phillies and Braves. If the Phils hadn’t had their turnaround, it’d be a bit easier, but I can’t see Miami taking the division crown despite being just four games back, and the odds reflect that.

James Wood and CJ Abrams are building a strong foundation for the Nationals, and perhaps they’d have a fighting chance in another division. That’s not the case in the NL East, though.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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