The Braves lead in the N.L. east is disappearing about as fast as Lindsay Lohan’s acting career.  Atlanta’s latest slip up was Thursday’s 5-3 loss at last place Washington.  That is the team’s fourth loss in the past six games.

Meanwhile, the Phillies just keep right on winning.  They took down Arizona in extra innings last night to win their eighth straight.  The Braves lead in the N.L. East standings is now just 2 ½ games.  This time last week they had a seven game lead.

The Mets are 6 ½ back and aren’t a factor yet.  But, as we’ve seen, that could change in a week’s time.  I’m still not sold on the Mets though.

It looks like it is going to be a two horse race between the Braves and the two time defending N.L. champions.  Atlanta’s task got a lot tougher when the Phillies made a move to land Houston ace Roy Oswalt Tuesday.  Oswalt, combined with Halladay and Hamels makes for a pretty strong starting rotation in Philly.

The schedule is also working against the Braves.  They open a series at N.L. Central leading Cincinnati tonight.  The Phillies, fresh off a series at N.L. West cellar dweller Arizona, head to D.C. to face the N.L. East basement feeder Washington Nationals.  They won’t have to face Nat’s ace Stephen Strasburg either.  The rookie sensation is on the 15 day disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

It may be tough for the Braves to keep that lead from shrinking further or even disappearing completely this weekend.

The Washington Nationals didn’t have Stephen Strasburg but they did have enough to shutout the Braves 3-0 last night in D.C. Strasburg was a late scratch because he was having problems getting loose in the bullpen. The team decided to scrub his start as a precaution. That decision lead to some unhappy fans at Nationals Stadium. There were plenty of boos when the announcement came over the stadium PA.

Chipper Jones on Strasburg scratch

Chipper

Strasburg has been diagnosed with shoulder inflammation and is listed as day to day.

The Braves weren’t able to take advantage of an emergency start by Miguel Bautista. Bautista has a Strasburg like performance with six strikeouts in five innings of work. He allowed just three hits and walked just one to earn his first win of the season.

Bautista on his last minute start

MIguel Batista

Tommy Hanson took the loss for Atlanta.

The Phillies won their sixth straight last night with a 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks. Philly is now only 3 1/2 games behind the Braves for first place in the N.L. East. The Mets also won last night and they are 6 1/2 back.

Tonight the Braves and Nats will get together again tonight. Tim Hudson will take the mound for Atlanta. He’s 10-5 with a 2.47. He’ll face Livan Hernandez. Hernandez is 7-6 with a 3.12 ERA. First pitch is 7:05.

After taking Monday off, the Braves are getting ready for round two verses rookie fireballer Stephen Strasburg.  Atlanta is in D.C. tonight to take on Strasburg and the Nationals.  The Braves will send Tommy Hanson to the mound.

This is an important series for Atlanta because their once comfortable seven game lead in the N.L. East has been trimmed to four and a half games by the Phillies.  Philly won its fifth straight Monday to close the gap in the standings.  The Phillies open a series with the hapless Arizona Diamondbacks tonight.

Braves Radio Network announcer Mike Morgan breaks down team on SportsTalk

Morgan

Tonight’s game starts at 7:05 at Nationals Park

The Braves let one get away from them against the Padres last night in Atlanta.  Billy Wagner gave up two runs in the 9^th inning to pave the way for a 12 inning 6-4  win for San Diego.  It is just the fourth time this season Wagner has blown as save.

Billy Wagner disappointed he didn’t get the job done

Wagner

The good news for the Braves is the Mets and the Phillies both lost last night so they didn’t lose any ground in the N.L. East standings.  Atlanta still has a 6 ½ game lead over New York and a seven game lead on Philly.

The rubber game of the Padres series is this afternoon at Turner Field.  Tim Hudson will start on the mound for Atlanta.  San Diego will go with Clayton Richard.  First pitch is 1:05.

The Braves won a battle of first place teams against the Padres last night.  Jason Heyward had three hits and Matt Diaz homered for Atlanta in a 4-1 win at Turner field.

Matt Diaz on his recent surge in production

Diaz

 Jair Jurrjens pitched seven innings and struck out seven to earn the win on the mound.  He improved his record to 3-3 on this season and has been impressive since coming off the disabled list.  Right now everything seems to be going right for Jurrjens and his teammates.

Jurrjens and the Braves are rolling

Jair

Here’s some even better news for the Braves: The Phillies and Mets lost.  Again.  Those two teams recent slide is helping Atlanta pad its lead in the N.L. East standings.  The Braves have a 6 ½ game lead over the Mets and lead by seven games over the Phillies.

The Braves face the Padres again tonight in Atlanta. First pitch is at 7:10.

The Braves opened the second half of the season with a 2-1 win over the Brewers last night.  Martin Prado and Chipper Jones provided the offense with a pair of solo homers and Jason Heyward made two spectacular plays on defense in his first game back from the disabled list. 

Chipper Jones on last night’s win

Chipper

Jair Jurrgens only allowed one run in his six plus innings of work and Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 21st save of the season. 

Braves skipper Bobby Cox

Cox

Also last night, San Francisco shut out the Mets 2-0 and The Cubs beat the Phillies 12-6.  That means the Braves lead over New York in the N.L. East standings is up to 5 games. They lead Philly by 5 1/2 games.

Atlanta and the Brew Crew meet again tonight at Turner Field.  Tommy Hanson will be on the mound.  First pitch is 7:35.

The Braves traded starting shortstop Yunel Escobar to Toronto Wednesday-in return Atlanta gets Blue Jays shortstop Alex Gonzalez.   The Braves also sent lefty Jo-Jo Reyes to Toronto in the deal and received a couple of minor leaguers. 

Actually, the two minor leaguers are significant too, especially left handed pitcher Tim Collins, who is doing very well in Double-A.  The other prospect is Tyler Pastornicky.

We’ll worry about those two prospects down the road; in the short term the Braves get a veteran shortstop that is having one of his best offensive seasons.  Gonzalez is 33 years old and is hitting .259 with 17 homeruns and 50 RBIs this season. 

Braves General Manager Frank Wren on Gonzalez

Frank Wren

Tonight Atlanta will play its first game since the All-Star break.  They take on the Brewers at 7:10 at Turner Field.  The Braves start the second half with a four game lead on the Mets in the N.L. East standings.

It is really hard to wrap your brain around just how long it has been since the National League won the All-Star game.  Think back to what you were doing in 1996?  Bill Clinton was president, Seinfeld was television,  Michael Jordan was still in the NBA and Kornblut still had hair.  

Yep, it has been a while.

The streak finally ended last night and, fittingly enough, it was a Brave that delivered the big hit.  Brian McCann stepped to the plate in the 7^th inning looking for his first ever hit in an All-Star game. 

He got it.

Joe Buck’s call of McCann’s hit on Fox

Fox

McCann’s bases clearing double was the first ever in an All-Star game.  That is actually pretty hard to believe given the long history of the Mid-Summer Classic.  The three run double was enough to earn McCann MVP honors.

Brian McCann postgame press conference

McCann post All-Star

McCann made the point that this win means a lot to him not only because of the streak, but because the Braves currently have the best record in the National League.  As most of you know, the winning league at the All-Star game gets home field advantage in the World Series.  McCann knows his big hit last night could potentially have some residual effects come October.

Atlanta lost the final game of its series at New York Sunday but the team is getting out of the Big Apple in pretty decent shape.  The Braves have extended their lead over the Mets to four games in the N.L. East standings as they break for the next three days for the All-Star game.

Derek Lowe talks about being in first at the All-Star Break

D.Lowe1

The Phillies swept the Reds over the weekend so they are 4 ½ games behind the Braves in the standings.  Florida is ten back and the Nationals are 13 ½ back.

Braves outfielder Jason Heyward will NOT be playing in the All-Star game Tuesday.  He wants to rest his injured hand.  That opened up a spot that N.L. skipper Charlie Manuel wanted to give to Braves closer Billy Wagner.  However, Wagner decided to turn down the spot to help his injured ankle recover.  He tweaked the ankle on June 17^th against the Rays.

Despite not attending, Wagner will get credit for making his 7^th All-Star game.  He plans to retire at the end of this season.

The Braves scored three runs in the 11^th inning to grab a 6-3 win at Philadelphia last night.  Eric Hinske homered in that 11th inning and Matt Diaz also doubled in a run.  Diaz finished the night with three hits. Diaz and the Braves have built a five game lead over the Phillies in the N.L. East standings and can extend that in tonight’s rubber game.

Matt Diaz on finishing strong before the All-Star break

Diaz

Jair Jurrjens allowed three runs on two hits in his second start since coming off the disabled list. He didn’t factor in the decision. Jesse Chavez picked up the win in relief and All-Star snub Billy Wagner earned his 18th save of the season.

Braves skipper Bobby Cox and Jurrjens effort

Cox

Kris Medlin will be on the mound for Atlanta tonight Philadelphia will counter with Jamie Moyer.  First pitch is 7:05.

The Mets kept pace with Atlanta with a 3-0 win against the Reds last night.  New York remains just two games behind Atlanta in the East standings.

The Braves and Mets open a three game series in New York on Friday.