MLB Standings Update: Braves Hanging Around In NL East

The Philadelphia Phillies have led the NL East from day one and still find themselves atop the division with the best record in baseball at 51-30. That's four games better than any other team in the league and five better than any other NL team. They've grown that best record lead even further this week with two wins over the Red Sox, who previously held the second best record in the majors.

But as the Phillies roll on, the Atlanta Braves have managed to keep pace and currently sit 4.5 games back. They've been winning in much the same way as the Phils have, with really good pitching and not so much offense. Whether or not the Braves ever catch Phils may end up being somewhat of a moot point, since Atlanta is firmly in control of the NL Wildcard.

The Mets currently sit at third in the division and their solid run in June has lifted them over the ,500 mark. They've won 7 of their 10, but still remain 9.5 games back in the division. Nationals had a bit of a celebration when they finally got themselves over the .500 mark over the weekend, but in true Nats style, the team quickly crushed the optimism with four straight losses sending them back below .500. They sit 11 games back in the division.

As for the Marlins... Well, it's been a rough month to say the least. The Fish have been almost historically bad this month, their manager simply gave up and they went from just a game back of the Phils at the start of the month to 15.5 games back in cellar of the NL East.

The Philadelphia Phillies currently own the best record in baseball with a mark of 34-21. Unfortunately, the team with the third best record in the NL also resides in the NL East. That said, I'm not sure which team that's more unfortunate for... Last week, the Marlins had pulled to within a game of the NL East lead, but after a strong weekend, the Phils sat atop the division by a three game margin. However, their loss last night coupled with a Marlin win means the gap is currently two games.

The Braves have slipped a game and a half since last week and now sit 4.5 off the pace in the NL East. They've gone just .500 over their last 10 games and are in danger of being swept by the lowly San Diego Padres this week.

The Phils have been buoyed by the hot bat of rookie Domonic Brown, who is 6 for his last 10 and his his first home run of 2011 last night. Further proof that he's shook off his awful spring, Brown has only struck out once in his last eight games.