Just a quick note… The Marlins lost, and fall to 6 1/2 games out. And the Braves’ team ERA for the season is now 2.97. That is insanely low; no team has broken 3.00 over the course of a season since the 1989 Dodgers. Only two teams have even beaten 3.25 since 1993, the 1997 Braves at 3.18. I can’t imagine that will hold up, but I think they can beat 3.25.

The Braves offense, meanwhile, has scored 334 runs, tied for fifth in the league. That’s misleading; the Braves are tied with Montreal, and the Expos have played one fewer game. The Dodgers are only one run behind and the Astros two, and both those teams have played one fewer game as well. Still, eighth in the league in runs per game is nothing to sneeze at considering how the Braves performed last year, or early this year. I really don’t have a good grasp on how good the Braves’ offense really is. They’re only 11th in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) and 12th in on-base. That suggests they’ve been lucky to score so many runs and will slip. On the other hand, the offense has looked better the last month. My guess is they really are about the eighth-best offense in the league, at least with the current lineup. Great pitching, middling offense… Where have I heard that before?