Philadelphia Phillies: (10-5; Leader)
The Phillies took two out of three from the Atlanta Braves. However, they did lose JA Happ to the DL with a strained flexor in his left arm. JC Romero was activated, while Nelson Figueroa will take his spot in the rotation. The Phillies begin a six-game west coast road trip with three in Arizona.
Florida Marlins: (9-7; -1.5)
The Florida Marlins dropped two of three to the Houston Astros, and will head west to play three in Colorado. Jorge Cantu has a hit in every game this season, and has a 19 game hitting streak going back to last year. Chris Coghlan, reining NL Rookie of the Year, is off to a slow start.
Atlanta Braves: (8-7; -2)
The Braves lost two of three to the Phillies, and come to New York for a weekend series. Super-prospect Jason Heyward has a R-HR-RBI line of 8-4-16, with an OPS of .999. Also, the Braves signed Spanish prospect Victor Velazquez. Spanish, as in from Spain. The third Spanish prospect signed by the Braves this year.
Washington Nationals: (8-8; -2.5)
Jason Marquis has gone on the DL with bone chips, and will miss 6 weeks. Livan Hernandez, off to his usual strong first half, took his first loss yesterday against Ubaldo Jimenez. The Nationals split a four game series with the Rockies, and will now face the Dodgers. Oh, and Strasburg is killing it in the minors.
Weekly Stat: The Braves, Mets, Nationals, and Phillies are the top four teams at drawing walks, in that order (Mets tied with Washington). The Marlins are second to last. Dead last are the Houston Astros with only 18 walks.
In fact, the Braves have had 32% of their plate appearances end in walks or strikeouts. The Mets have had 30% of their plate appearances end in a walk or strikeout. The Nationals, Phillies, and Marlins fall in at 28%, 26%, and 25% respectively.
