Weekly Roundup: National League East

Oct 01, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals mascot Screech and fans celebrate after clinching the National League east title at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when the Nationals and the Braves were supposed to be the lone competitors for the division title in 2014? Good times. With the first month of the 2014 season in the books, the National League East has quickly become one of the most competitive divisions in the game.

While it’s still early and they may very well run away with it in the end, the Mets, Marlins and Phillies have stuck around and are within reach of first place.

The Braves took a commanding lead in mid-April but fell apart towards the end of the month with a seven game losing streak that ended last night. The Nationals were finally able to string together a four game winning streak and, coupled with the Braves’ struggles, were able to jump into first place for a day earlier this week. The Marlins, who were three games under .500 and in last place just a couple of weeks ago, have won eight of their last 10 games and are now tied with the Nationals for second place, sitting just a half game back of the Braves. The Mets and Phillies have lost three and two games in a row respectively but still sit just two and a half games out of first place.

Five weeks into the season, all five teams in the division are within two and a half games of first place and only the Phillies are bellow .500 at 15-16. That being said, baseball is an unpredictable game and for all we know, the Mets could have a four game lead in a week.

One thing’s for certain, the division looks much stronger than it has in recent years and with the amount of talent that all five teams have at the big league level, the NL East will certainly be a division to keep an eye on throughout the summer.

Want to stay up to date on all things NL East? Here are some links from around FanSided:

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