Phillies and Marlins Keeping Up with Mets and Nationals in N.L. East Race

The National League East race was supposed to be a two team affair, with the New York Mets and Washington Nationals battling each other, but a month and a half into the season there are two other clubs in the thick of things as well.

Going into the games of May 17th, the Mets and Phillies were a game and a half behind the Nationals, and the Marlins were just two games back. This week, the Nationals are at the Mets for a two game set while the Phillies are hosting three with the Marlins. Washington split a four game weekend set with Miami. Max Scherzer , coming off that 20 strikeout performance, was on the hill against Noah Syndergaard of the Mets. As one might expect, pitching dominated the matchup; both starters struck out 10 batters, but Scherzer gave up two solo home runs, while Syndergaard and two relievers shut out the Nationals for a 2-0 victory.

Last year, the Phillies were just 63-99, which was the worst record in the majors, and the Marlins were 71-91. While they will both probably regress to the mean as the long season goes on, they are competitive and offer hope to their fans that a turnaround is underway. The Phillies beat Miami 3-1 on May 17th.