The Morning Meeting: Rough Monday Night for the National League East

The NL East got only one win last night, and it came at the expense of a divisional rival

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Rough Monday for the NL East - Philly and Atlanta both dropped one-run games, while the only win in the division came in a divisional matchup as Washington knocked off Miami to complete the four-game sweep.

Let's look at what each team did on Monday evening, 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 30th)
Braves - 19-8 (.704), -- GB, +46 run diff
Phillies - 19-11 (.633), 1.5 GB, +24 run diff
Mets - 14-14 (.500), 5.5 GB, +5 run diff
Nationals - 14-14 (.500), 5.5 GB, -5 run diff
Marlins - 6-24 (.200), 14.5 GB, -64 run diff

Nobody really gained ground after the Braves dropped a game, but now everybody’s at .500 or better except for the Marlins. It’s not the best division in baseball, but the middle of the NL East is playing better at the moment than many expected. 

Game recaps from Monday

Atlanta Braves 

Atlanta wasted another masterful start from Max Fried to get walked off in the 9th by the Seattle Mariners to open the series. Classic pitcher’s duel in this one, as Fried and Mariners starter Bryce Miller combined to allow two hits and one run (both by Miller) across thirteen combined innings. Fried walked two and struck out seven, while Miller had a perfect game going into the 6th and finished with one walk and ten strikeouts.

Atlanta got on the board late in classic 2023 fashion - Ronald Acuña Jr. singles, stole both 2nd and 3rd, and was driven in by Ozzie Albies. But A.J. Minter, filling in for unavailable closer Raisel Iglesias, gave up a homer to Mitch Garver that gave Seattle the walkoff victory.   

Philadelphia Phillies 

Philly dropped their series opener to the Los Angeles Angels 6-5. Christopher Sánchez got roughed up a bit, allowing four runs in just five innings, while the pen couldn’t hold a lead and gave up multiple runs late to LA. 

Nick Castellanos went 0-4 again and grounded into a double play, lowering his average to just .173 with a .460 OPS. It’s officially a problem for Philly. 

New York Mets

The Mets got an early lead on the Chicago Cubs but couldn’t hold it, dropping last night’s game 3-1 at home. Brandon Nimmo homered on the fourth pitch of the game, but New York couldn’t push anyone across after that, being held to just three more hits and six more baserunners in the contest. 

The loss was charged to Edwin Díaz, who gave up two runs (including a homer) in the top of the 9th. It spoiled a masterful start from Luis Severino, who went eight innings with just one hit and one run allowed, both in the eighth and final inning of his outing.    

Washington Nationals vs Miami Marlins

Washington went to Miami and swept the Marlins in a four game series with last night’s 7-2 victory. This one was never in doubt, as Washington had three runs on the board before Miami scored and the Marlins finished with more strikeouts (five) than hits (four). Jesús Sánchez also got pulled from the game after loafing on a single-turned-double by Alex Call, a play that SS Tim Anderson got injured on when he tried to rush a tag. 

Yes Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a homer for the 2nd consecutive game, but the bullpen again allowed multiple runs late after a starter barely made it through the minimum. Things are not okay in Miami right now.  

MVP's for Monday

Hitter: Washington’s CJ Abrams - 1-3, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 BBs
Pitcher: Atlanta’s Max Fried: 6IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB to 7Ks

Who's playing today?

A series finale and a few series openers on deck today, including some late start times: 

COL (Feltner) @ Miami (Sánchez) - 6:40 PM ET
CHC (Assad) @ New York (Manaea) - 7:10 PM ET
Washington (Gore) @ TEX (Gray) - 8:05 PM ET
Philly (Turnbull) @ LAA (Anderson) - 9:38 PM ET
Atlanta (López) @ SEA (Castillo) - 9:40 PM ET

Enjoy the games, everyone.