NL East Standings: NY Mets move back into first place, Braves becoming irrelevant

A check in on the NL East standings and we find a title belt getting swapped one day into June. The New York Mets have won three straight, the Philadelphia Phillies have dropped their last four, and all seems right in the world if you’re partial to orange and blue.

It was only a matter of time before the Mets moved back atop the NL East. Although the Phillies have shown they aren’t going to be a pushover club (except maybe when playing the Mets), they don’t seem to have the same edge over the rest of the NL East as they did last season.

More troubling in the NL East is the status of the Atlanta Braves. A record of 3-7 in their last 10 games played, their temporary ascent in the division has taken a U-Turn. They now sit at 27-31 and an uncomfortable 9.5 games behind the first place Mets.

Mets lead the NL East standings again, Braves are stuck in fourth place

Recent struggles by the Braves have them sitting in fourth place behind the Washington Nationals by a half-game. In fact, they’re closer to the 23-34 Miami Marlins in last place than the 37-22 Mets. As far as the NL Wild Card is concerned, they rest 5.5 games out of a spot. When it comes to the Wild Card, the number of teams in front of you matters a lot. The Braves have everyone but the Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Colorado Rockies ahead of them.

It’s a bit unprecedented because the Braves have a +13 run differential versus the -37 for the Nationals and -79 for the Marlins. Much like last season, scoring runs has been problematic. Ronald Acuna’s return has sparked them offensively but not to the tune they’d need to make up any ground in the NL East.

The Mets and Braves won’t play each other for the first time until June 18 when the former hosts at Citi Field. They’ll play again in Atlanta the following week, finally getting a closer look at what their NL East foe is packing this season.

The 2019 Washington Nationals, 2022 Philadelphia Phillies, and even our adored 2024 Mets all had rocky starts and eventually found a way to make it to the playoffs and go on a deep run, Washington winning it all. None actually owned the NL East crown that year. So, while the Braves might not be a formidable foe in the standings at the rate they’re going, we can’t dismiss them as a dangerous Wild Card opponent.