Labor Day Weekend is here but that doesn’t mean we here at NLEastChatter take a day off. Without further ado I give you the “Labor Day Edition” of the “NL East Daily Recap“.

Nelson Figueroa was a victim of the Long-ball as Home-runs by Aramis Ramirez in the 4th and Derek Lee in the 5th proved too much for the Mets to overcome as the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 5-3. To read more check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

Kaz Matsui’s bases loaded single in the bottom of the ninth off Phillie’s closer Brad Lidge helped the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4. It was Brad Lidge’s (0-7) 10th blown save of the year. To read more check out The Phillies Phandom Blog.

Jair Jurrjens (10-10) only gave up 3 runs over 7 innings but it wasn’t enough as Kip Wells (1-3) gave up 0 runs over 6 innings helping the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 keeping the Braves 8.5 games back of the Phillies. To read more check out The Braves Baseball Blog.

Josh Johnson (14-4) gave up 1 run over 5 innings and Hanley Ramirez hit a 2-run HR in the 4th helping the Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 9-5. Livan Hernandez (7-10) gave up 6 earned runs over 5 innings putting the Nats in a hole that they never dug out of. To read more check out The Fish Guts Blog for all your Marlins info and The Centerfield Gate Blog for all things Nats.

close....but...no

The Pirates were looking to do something that probably not many picked earlier this week, and that was to win a series versus the Phillies.  After Garrett Jones came through with another late inning home run for this Pirates team, they were on their way to a game win of 3-2 and a series victory.  Garrett Jones hit a two run home run in the eighth inning with two out and one on, that put the Pirates in the lead for good, as Matt Capps held the Phils in the ninth for his 24th save.  Danny Bautista(1-0) got the relief victory for the Pirates as he worked two perfect innings with two strikeouts behind a well pitched game by Charlie Morton who went five innings and allowed only two runs.  The Pirates only other run was on a home run by Andrew McCutchen in the first.

J.A. Happ pitched very well in this game and really only made two mistakes.  Unfortunately both of those mistakes were home runs and led to the loss for Happ(10-3) as he went eight innings and allowed seven total hits, but two home runs.  His only run support was a Ryan Howard RBI groundout in the first and a Paul Bako solo shot in teh second before the Phils bats went silent.  Phillies Phandom has more on this game and all Phillies games.

Redding...wins?

In a rare event for the New York Mets yesterday in South Florida, they won by a score of 10-3.  Even more odd is that every position player had at least two hits including Daniel Murphy with two hits and three RBI and Anderson Hernandez with three hits and two runs scored and the Mets knocked seventeen in total.  Tim Redding, newly into the rotation pitched his second straight good start going 6.2 innings and only allowing five hits and three runs, but all three on homers to get the victory.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog covers all things Mets for you.

With the arm and bat!

Another shot, what else is new?

The Washington Nationals really hurt the Cubs this week, by now taking the series from them in Chicago by winning yesterday 5-4.  Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn added solo shots for the Nats, who barely held on to the lead for starter J.D. Martin.  Martin(3-3) went five innings allowing four hits and three runs, but two home runs in earning the victory.  After relief pitching allowed the Cubs to get within one, Mike MacDougal recorded his 14th save of the year with 1.2 innings of work only allowing a walk.    CenterfieldGate has more on this.
The Cubs had sent Randy Wells to the mound for this one, but he could not give them a series win.  Wells(9-7) lasted 6.1 innings allowing all five runs while walking four batters in taking the loss.  They almost got even for him as Aramis Ramirez hit a two run shot and Derek Lee added a solo homer, but that was all.

Howard rescues the Phils bullpen

Last night in Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia bullpen tried to give up another game to the Pirates late in the game.  Ryan Madson(5-4) was charged with his fifth blown save as he tried to save Cole Hamels eight inning no run gem, but allowed a pinch hit game tying home run.  Ryan Howard got him off the hook in the top of the tenth with a three run blast as the Phillies went on to win 4-1 and Madson actually got the win.  The Phillies only other run was on a Chase Utley solo bomb in the first and although the Phillies won, it wasted a classic Hamels start.  Check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Brandon Moss came up as a pinch hitter for the Pirates shortstop in the bottom of the ninth and hit a shot to right center field and the Pirates had hope.  Unfortunately Steven Jackson(2-3) put two runners on before recording an out in the ninth and gave way to Phil Dumatrait who gave up the home run to Ryan Howard.  Paul Maholm got a no decision but pitched very well, holding the Phillies to five hits and one run over seven innings of work.

"Ace" Mike Pelfrey

Josh Johnson has owned the Mets over his career, and although he was shaky last night, he got another win against them.  Johnson(13-3) was off his game in going six innings and allowing nine hits and three runs, but held on until his offense could come through for him.  Cody Ross got the Marlins even with a triple scoring two runs and later Ronnie Paulino hit a two run home run… the deciding blow in 1 5-3 final.  Leo Nunez pitched the ninth again, striking out two and allowing one hit and recorded his 16th save of the season, FishGuts has more on the game.

Mike Pelfrey is now the defacto ace of the Mets staff, now that Johan Santana and Oliver Perez have joined the army on the disabled list.  Pelfrey(9-9) went 5.2 innings allowing 11 hits and five runs, including five walks, only two strikeouts and a home run.  He still seems to have a lot of trouble with men on base and should be his number one issue going into the offseason.  Fernando Tatis stayed hot against Josh Johnson as he doubled, scored a run and had one RBI while accumulating three total hits.  Corey Sullivan and Anderson Hernandez added the two other RBI’s for the Mets as they dropped their fifth in a row, The Real Dirty Mets Blog will have more.

Apparently the photographers in Atlanta took the night off, but so did the Braves relief pitching.  The Padres went into the sixth inning down 3-0, and left that inning up 6-4 on their way to a 12-5 victory and second in a row against the Braves.  that sixth inning included RBI doubles by Will Venable and Nick Hundley, as well as RBI singles by Luis Rodriguez and Adrian Gonzalez.  Eckstein added two more RBI singles later in the game, amont a Kouzmanoff two run shot and another Adrian Gonzalez RBI single.  Tim Stauffer(2-6) got the win going five innings and leaving only giving up three runs and six hits in this game.

Kenshin Kawakami had pitched five scoreless innings in this game, and then only recorded one out in the sixth and ended up charged with seven hits and four runs in the game.  Braves relief pitching over the final 3.2 innings gave up 11 hits and eight runs to put this game out of reach.  Brian McCann hit a three run homer in the first and an RBI single in the ninth and Ryan Church had an RBI single in the sixth for all the Braves offense.  The Braves Baseball Blog has more info on this game.

Finally, a win!

The Cubs looked like they were gonna have to fight for a win, late in the game yesterday, but luckily they ran in to the Nationals relief pitching.  The Cubs got six in the eighth to extend their lead and won the game 9-4 against the Nats.  In the eighth inning Koy Hill had a two RBI double, followed by doubles also by Mike Fontenot and Derek Lee and finally an infield single by Aramis Ramirez to score the final run.  Angel Guzman(3-3) got the victory in the game after Rich Harden pitched six strong innings but left with a tie score.

Livan Hernandez only found himself out of work for a few days as the Nats picked him up and had him right into the rotation.  Hernandez went six innings only allowing two runs on five hits and received a no decision in his first start back with the Nats.  Jason Bergmann(2-3) was charged with the loss as he gave up the go ahead run in the seventh on two hits and the bullpen gave up six more runs after that in just one more inning of work.  Willingham, Guzman, Nieves and Willy Harris all had RBI’s for the Nationals in the loss.  Check out CenterfieldGate for more.

Zambrano finally beats the Phils

The Philadelphia Phillies were looking to extend their team winning streak to eleven games yesterday afternoon in Philadelphia.  Carlos Zambrano and though were finally able to slow down the Phillies, their offense and their pitching to salvage a game in the series.  Zambrano(7-4) went 6.2 innings giving up only four earned runs on ten scattered hits and striking out four to get the win in the game.  Jeff Baker and Aramis Ramirez had big hits, each getting two RBI doubles to lead the Cubbies.  Seven Cubs players in all had at least one RBI on Wednesday afternoon and Kevin Gregg came in for a four out save.  Gregg got his 19th save by coming in with the two men on in the eighth and after walking Utley, got Howard to ground out to end the inning and then worked a perfect ninth to secure a 10-5 win.

The Phillies’ Jamie Moyer couldn’t bring the magic he had against the Marlins back to Philly on this day.  Moyer(9-7) went only five innings and gave up four earned runs, five total and took the loss even though Philly tried to claw back.  Chad Durbin couldn’t record an out while giving up two hits and three runs and three walks and Brad Lidge couldn’t get out of the ninth while giving up two hits, two runs, and two walks while recording only two outs.  Victorino, Feliz and Dobbs had the RBI’s for the Phillies, but Check out Phillies Phandom for more.

Escobar helps the Braves again

The Braves keep winning, and even against the wild card leading San Francisco Giants.  The Braves won their fourth straight game and now have won six of seven since the all-star break as they beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants.  Jair Jurrjens(9-7) pitched into the eighth inning and was charged with one earned run while only giving up three hits and a walk, but striking out nine batters getting the win.  Brian McCann got another RBI, but the offensive highlight on Wednesday night was once again shortstop Yunel Escobar who is on fire of late, as he hit a three run home run which proved to be the winning RBI’s in this game.  Rafael Soriano gave up a run in the ninth while preserving a save, his 14th of the year for the Braves as they won 4-2.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more information about the Braves.

The Giants sent reighning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum(10-3) to the mound, but he only got through five troubling innings, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks even though he struck out nine.  It was only the third loss of the year for the young ace, but he was up against another young up and coming star.  Randy Winn and Travis Ishikawa had the two RBI’s for the Giants.

Nolasco with another great game

An afternoon finale in San Diego brought an opportunity for the Marlins to sweep the Padres and get back on track with three straight wins.  Starter Ricky Nolasco(7-7) didn’t disappoint as he pitched 6.1 shutout innings only giving up two hits and three walks but striking out ten batters.  He was supported  later in the game as for the first six innings, he was only given a one run lead.  Jeremy Hermida and Chris Coghlan homered for the Marlins and Hermida added another RBI on a fielders’ choice and Uggla had the other RBI in a 5-0 win.  Check out FishGuts for more information on the Marlins and all about their team.

There isn’t much to say again for the Padres in this game.  Josh Geer(1-6) lasted six strong innings and only gave up two runs, but the horrendous San Diego offense could only muster three hits against the Marlins pitching.

Willingham with a huge game

The Mets walked into Washington this week as a struggling team playing another struggling team.  The home struggling team got the best of them, as Wednesday night they took the rubber game of the series 3-1.  Josh Willingham went 4-4 with a run scored and two RBI, both RBI on a home run in the sixth inning.  The sixth inning home run put the Nats in the lead of a previously tied game and sent the Mets to yet another series loss.  Ronny Belliard drove in the other run for the Nats on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.  Craig Stammen(3-5) pitched 7.1 strong innings only giving up four hits and a run in the sixth but got mainly good defense and timely hitting behind him.  Mike MacDougal got his sixth save of the year while working a perfect ninth inning for the Nationals.  Check out CenterfieldGate if you want more information about the Nats and their team.

The New York Mets sent Mike Pelfrey(7-6) to the hill after a horrible outting last Thursday in Atlanta.  He managed to get through seven innings, only giving up three runs on six hits, but unfortunately as always is the story, the Mets meager lineup couldn’t support him.  Angel Pagan hit a triple in the sixth inning and was able to score on a throwing error by the Nationals shortstop for the Mets only run.  The Real Dirty Mets Blog has all the Mets info you need.

A long game, just to lose

The Marlins were helped out by the rain gods last night in Miami but that didn’t stop the Phillies.  The Phillies took an early 4-1 lead on hits by Utley, Werth and Feliz and Hamels was rolling with only 68 pitches through five.  Then there was a rain delay of over one hour, and Cole Hamels had to leave the game and the Marlins were able to fight back to send the game to extra innings.  Finally, in the twelfth inning, run scoring singles by Chase Utley and finally Jayson Werth put the game out of reach in an eventual 6-5 victory for the phillies, their 11th in 12 games. Clay Condrey(5-2) who was just activated off the disabled list, got the win while working a scoreless bottom of the 11th inning.  Phillies Phandom will always have your up to date news and info on the Phillies.

The Marlins were able to fight back mostly with singles throughout the game.  Ross Gload, Ronnie Paulino and Wes Helms all had rbi singles in the seventh and eighth innings to send the game to extras.  Burke Badenhop(5-4) got the loss by giving up two runs in the twelfth inning and also the new Scott Olsen Mugshot Memorial Award over at Fish Guts!

This was before a hit...i think every pitch was

In Atlanta on Friday night, first the Braves retired future hall of famer Greg Maddux’ number, then they retired what seems to be the New York Mets season.  The Braves put up three in the first, three more in the third and four in the fifth while routing the Mets 11-0 while pitching a two hit shutout.  Brian McCann went three for four with four RBI and three runs scored for the Braves while hitting a home run, and Yunel Escobar also went three for four with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Braves.  Jair Jurrjens(8-7) pitched six innings of two hit ball to get the win for the Braves.  Three Braves relieves finished off the game for them, guaranteeing them at least a series split.  Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more information on them.

There isn’t much to write about the Mets here.  Mike Pelfrey(7-5) worked into the fifth inning but allowed nine runs on nine hits for a bad loss for the Mets.  Tim Redding had another bad outting and he could be headed out of town, read more about that at The Real Dirty Mets Blog.

Zambrano does it with the bat too

The Cubs are enjoying playing in the Nations capital, while collecting their second straight win on Friday night while there.  Carlos Zambrano realized his teammates were having an off-night with the bat and decided to take matters into his own hands.  In the second inning he ripped a two RBI double which gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead, as they went towards a 3-1 win on the night.  Zambrano(6-4) pitched the five inning minimum for a win while only allowing four hits and a run.  Aramis Ramirez added a solo home run for insurance later on.

Craig Stammen(2-5) went six innings while giving up six hits and all three runs in taking a loss on a night his bats were silent and he couldn’t help himself.  The Nats after having some optimism weeks ago during interleague play are now back to their losing ways.  They hope to salvage a couple games throughout the rest of the weekend, but check out Centerfieldgate for great insight about the Nats and other baseball information.