Braves lead the Marlins by two in the NL East

We are at the halfway point of the 60-game regular season, and the Atlanta Braves have a two-game lead on the Miami Marlins.

Atlanta (18-12) --
Miami (14-12) -2.0
Philadelphia (12-14) -4.0
New York (13-16) -4.5
Washington (11-17) -6.0

The Nationals have a three-game losing streak, and with the trade deadline four days away you have to wonder if they will sell a few players off and give up on 2020.

The Phillies will play at Washington on Thursday at 6:37 p.m. ET before hosting the Braves this weekend for a three-game weekend series. The Marlins will finish their series with the Mets in New York starting at 7:10 p.m. ET.

The Braves team ERA is now 4.16, which is a big improvement after they had two well-pitched starts by Ian Anderson and Max Fried in Wednesday's double-header with the Yankees.

Obviously, Anderson will likely get another start. We'll see if it's Sunday for the series finale with the Phillies on Sunday night baseball or on Monday in Boston against the Red Sox, the team Anderson rooting for as a kid.

With Fried and Anderson, the Braves have at least two starters. They have not announced who will start any of the games in Philadelphia. Obviously, a trade could happen and change who pitches this weekend.

Expect the rumors to escalate as we get closer to the Monday 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.

Wednesday's game two victory was the eighth time this season the Braves won the game in the final at bat, most in the National League.

Dansby Swanson now has an 11-game hit streak. Ronald Acuna was 2-5 in the two games Wednesday against the Yankees.

What would Atlanta's record be if they had a good starting rotation? The rotation ERA is 5.01, and before Anderson won in game one Wednesday no other starter besides Fried had won a game. Just imagine if the rotation is strengthened with another arm for the last 30 games of the season and Anderson continues to pitch well.

For more coverage of the Braves, listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 p.m. ET on TheSuperStations.com and on 93.1 FM in Macon, 105.9 FM in Warner Robins and 98.3 FM in South Central Georgia. Follow Bill on Twitter @billshanks & email at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.