Phils win, Mets lose, Magic Number now at 4

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

The Phillies just keep on winning, especially against the Braves. The Phillies won for the 10th time in 11 games, beating the Braves 6-2 to raise their record to 14-2 against Atlanta for the season. The win, coupled with another loss by the Mets, puts the Phillies 2.5 games ahead of New York in the NL East. The Phillies magic number now sits at 4, meaning that any combination of Phillie wins and Met losses that adds up to 4 will clinch the division for Philadelphia. With 5 games left, the division now looks like a lock, barring a Mets-like collapse by the Phillies.

In Monday's game, the Phillies got another strong outing by J.A. Happ, his second in a row against Atlanta. While Happ didn't shut out the Braves like he did last week, he only allowed 2 runs in 6 and 2/3rds innings, striking out 5. Offensively for the Phillies, Jayson Werth drove in the game winning run on a groundout in the 8th inning and Pat Burrell followed with a 3-run homer to give the Phils a cushion to work with.

The Mets lost to the Cubs, their third loss in a row. The Mets are not only in danger of losing the NL East, but they only have a 1 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for the Wild Card. Are we really seeing another massive choke job by the Mets, their second in as many years? The Phillies have been amazing down the stretch, but they have certainly been helped by the Mets, who have won only 3 of their last 9.