Taking stock of the NL East

[braves guru]

The contenders of the NL East will emerge from some collective humbling in interleague play. Still only two games separating them. The Braves are 4-8 overall in interleague play and have lost two of the last three series. The Mets are 5-7. Only the Phillies have a winning record in interleague play at 8-7. "I'm kind of frustrated," Braves ace John Smoltz said. "At the same time, there's a little bit of a relief to know that we've got a chance to get hot. But we can't keep living by this formula. We haven't won three in a row in how long?" A look at the reasons for each team's fortunes:

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