Standings via MLB.com

Washington Nationals

The Nats have clinched a playoff berth and the club is sitting atop the NL East with a magic number of 6, and a near-unbelievable-yet-so-believable record of 92-60.

Lefty sensation Gio Gonzalez recorded his 20th win of the season on Saturday against the Brewers when his offense was certainly not feeling shy. The Nats trumped the Brew Crew with a final score of 10-4, and Gio held ‘em scoreless through five. Gio is the first National to reach a 20-game season, and is needless to say a contender for the Cy Young Award.

Meanwhile, rookie phenom Bryce Harper continues to astound and could be in a race for a title of his own: the NL Rookie of the Year Award, that is.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves are almost assuredly locked in for one of the two NL wild card spots, but that’s not what the team is settling for. Currently Atlanta sits only 4.5 games behind first-place Washington, poised with division-winning desires.

Tim Hudson, who pitched a gem against the Phillies on Sunday, is nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award that honors ballplayer’s charitable contributions off the field. You can vote for your favorite inspirational athlete here, but choose wisely! You may only cast your vote once.

Chipper Jones is making the rounds of goodbyes at major league stadiums on his farewell tour with the Atlanta Braves before he plans to retire at the end of the season. To see when the legend might make an appearance at a ballpark nearest you, check the club’s schedule online…. but the season is almost over, so act fast.

Philadelphia Phillies

Oh, the Fightin’ Phils… They just won’t give up! Despite dropping their last two games to the Braves, now the Phillies are 5 games behind the NL wild card spots, with Milwaukee, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Atlanta ahead of them in the race. Their schedule for the end of the season is tough, starting off with a series against the-you-guessed-it-Washington-Nationals.

Some of the Phillies top players have time to focus on their personal pursuits. Chase Utley is… chasing… (womp womp) his 200th career homer, and sits at just one shy. Meanwhile, Carlos Ruiz, back from the DL, aims to tie his career-high record of 116 hits.

New York Mets

The Mets are coming off a three-game winning streak, a sweep against the Marlins with a walk-off win, but it certainly won’t help their once-October-dreams, which are now frightfully far-off.

Third baseman David Wright is on his way to tying the franchise-record for hits, just shy of Ed Kranepool’s 1,418. With the Mets in the midst of a long homestand, it is likely that Wright can tie and break the record at Citi Field.

Closer Franky Frank Francisco is listed as day-to-day with tendonitis in his elbow.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins are back as the fish at the bottom of the barrel this season, it seems. But perhaps the fish at the bottom of the barrel don’t get shot? Not sure about that one… someone call the Mythbusters. The club’s record is .431, which isn’t winning, sure, but still isn’t all that bad.

When the headlines on your team’s website are like “so-and-so staying away from social media”… and “this guy’s gonna take pride in his final games”… it sounds like people are just trying to be positive for the sake of being positive. The latter, of course, we’re talking about All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes, and it almost makes me feel… sad.

Otherwise, the Marlins look bandaged and bruised, with injuries abounding on the squad.