NL East race took unexpected path to expected final battle between Braves, Phillies

The Braves are not as good as their 45-21 record through the first two-plus months of the season, nor as bad as their 31-34 record since.

The Phillies certainly aren't as bad as their 9-19 start which got manager Rob Thomson fired, but also aren't as good as their 36-19 May/June or their current nine-game win streak.

It happened in an unexpected way but the NL East race is likely to finish as expected over the next five weeks, with the Braves and Phillies battling it out after the high-rolling Mets made a stunning exit basically from the onset of the season.