MLB Tickets - The N.L. East Should Be Intense Down Stretch
August 23, 2010 by Stub_Hub
After picking up Roy Oswalt at the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies are gearing up for the division race with the Atlanta Braves, who continue to play well as the Phillies look to make their push. Here's a look at what both teams need to do to win the division.
Atlanta Braves:
Sitting at a solid 18 games above .500 on Aug. 11, the Braves have been one of the biggest surprises in the league in a season full of them. With a very young group of stars including starting pitcher Tommy Hanson and rookie outfielder Jason Heyward, the Braves have been able to hold off the Phillies thus far and have put themselves in a very good position to reach the playoffs, even if they do eventually relinquish the division lead.
But the Braves also need to get some of their major players back headed in the right direction. After putting up a huge first half, second baseman Omar Infante has cooled off, sporting an on-base percentage of only .314 during the month of August at the top of the lineup. Troy Glaus, who has had a bit of a resurgent season, has also fallen off the map and isn't producing anywhere near the level he was earlier in the year.
Jason Heyward is the other key player who has struggled down the stretch, hitting just .167 in August with only one run batted in. Add in the loss of Chipper Jones for the season and the Braves need to find a way to produce. Though Brian McCann has picked up some of the slack, he won't be able to carry the team the rest of the year if the other key contributors don't find a way to get the offense back on track.
On other hand, as the offense has struggled, starting pitchers Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson have been very good as of late and Hudson is rounding out perhaps the best season in his entire career. For them to compete with the one-two punch of Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in Philly, the Braves' main pitchers need to continue to get quality starts, as do other key pitchers like Derek Lowe and Jair Jurrjens.
Philadelphia Phillies:
It's been a bizarre season for the Phillies. After being highly touted heading into the season, the Phillies have struggled with key injuries to Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins throughout the year and the offense has never gotten rolling as most thought it would. Add in an ankle injury to Ryan Howard, their biggest seller of MLB tickets, and the Phillies seem to be in a very precarious position. On the bright side, Rollins is back in the lineup and healthy and both Howard and Utley are expected to be in the lineup by the end of the month, which would give them a tremendous boost.
Yet, despite the injuries, the Phillies are 7-2 in August and are just 2.5 games behind the Braves in the division. The Phillies also just got their first dominant outing from Roy Oswalt since coming over from the Astros. Roy Halladay has been solid all season and if they can get a few great performances from Oswalt, the Phillies should be in the division race right down to the end. The other key for the Phillies, in addition to getting healthy, is to get Cole Hamels to maintain the consistency he has found in the second half of the season. With Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels, the Phillies should have a very good top of the rotation that will be difficult to compete with in the final portion of the season.
