NL EAST THIS WEEK
Our weekly look at the Phillies' competition in the National League East:
Upcoming: Nationals (Fri., Sat., Sun.), Cubs (Mon., Tue., Wed., Thur.)
The skinny: Chipper Jones hit his first home run in nearly 2 months to lead the Braves over Arizona on Wednesday, 6-4. Tommy Hanson got the win. The Braves have won each of Hanson's past five starts. He leads the team with nine wins.
Upcoming: Phillies (Fri., Sat., Sun.), at Brewers (Mon., Tue., Wed., Thur.)
The skinny: Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is hoping for similar success after watching the Heat win the NBA title. "Having the Miami Heat winning, to me, was an inspiration," Guillen said. "I hope for the players, too. When I saw those guys in the parade talking, I got jealous. I want to be them. I wish I was the coach. That's my inspiration for the rest of my career here in Miami."
Upcoming: at Dodgers (Fri., Sat., Sun.), Phillies (Tue., Wed., Thur.)
The skinny: The Mets made their fantasy fans happy in a 17-1 rout of the Cubs on Wednesday. Daniel Murphy hit two home runs, Scott Hairston hit a grand slam, Ike Davis hit a three-run homer and David Wright drove in five runs. That was the way to end a four-game losing streak.
Upcoming: at Braves (Fri., Sat., Sun.), Giants (Tue., Wed., Thur.)
The skinny: Zimmerman and Zimmermann keep getting it done for the first-place Nationals. Righthander Jordan Zimmermann was the winning pitcher in an 11-5 win over Colorado on Wednesday night. He is 4-6 with a 2.89 ERA, but the Nats average just 3.1 run when he pitches. Ryan Zimmerman and Tyler Moore both hit home runs for the second consecutive game.
