Settling the Score: Friday's results - HardballTalk

The cream is rising to the top in the National League East.

While the Nationals had their five-game winning streak snapped yesterday against the Cubs, the Braves topped the Diamondbacks by the score of 8-2 last night. It was Atlanta’s eighth straight victory and their 10th win in their last 11 games.

Ervin Santana allowed two runs over 7 1/3 innings in the victory while the Braves’ offense pounded out 12 hits. Freddie Freeman had a pair of RBI singles to lead the charge.

The Braves are back to 10 games over .500 for the first time since late April and currently sit at 48-38 on the year, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Nationals for the division lead. With the Marlins, Mets, and Phillies all fading, it should be a two-team battle for most of the summer.

Your Friday box scores:

Diamondbacks 2, Braves 5

Cubs 7, Nationals 2

Yankees 6, Twins 5

Phillies 2, Pirates 8

Blue Jays 0, Athletics 1 (12 innings)

Marlins 2, Cardinals 3

Mariners 1, White Sox 7

Rangers 5, Mets 6

Astros 6, Angels 7

Dodgers 9, Rockies 0

Orioles/Red Sox – PPD

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On Sunday, we learned that while the Nationals would continue to pay their minor leaguers throughout the month of June, their weekly stipend would be lowered by 25 percent, from $400 to $300. In an incredible act of solidarity, Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle and his teammates put out a statement, saying they would be covering the missing $100 from the stipends.

After receiving some criticism, the Nationals reversed course, agreeing to pay their minor leaguers their full $400 weekly stipend.

Doolittle and co. have not withdrawn their generosity. On Wednesday, Doolittle released another statement, saying that he and his major league teammates would continue to offer financial assistance to Nationals minor leaguers through the non-profit organization More Than Baseball.

The full statement:

Washington Nationals players were excited to learn that our minor leaguers will continue receiving their full stipends. We are grateful that efforts have been made to restore their pay during these challenging times.

We remain committed to supporting them. Nationals players are partnering with More Than Baseball to contribute funds that will offer further assistance and financial support to any minor leaguers who were in the Nationals organization as of March 1.

We’ll continue to stand with them as we look forward to resuming our 2020 MLB season.

Kudos to Doolittle and the other Nationals continuing to offer a helping hand in a trying time. The players shouldn’t have to subsidize their employers’ labor expenses, but that is the world we live in today.

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Settling the Score: Friday’s results

Nationals’ major leaguers to continue offering financial assistance to minor leaguers