Number of the Day: Atlanta Braves' 1 Game Lead in the NL East

Coming into Labor Day, the Braves have a one game lead over the Phillies in the NL East, the division they've led since beating Philadelphia on May 31st and a lead that at one time stood at seven games.

The Braves have lost three of their last four, including the two games they lost in a three game series with the Florida Marlins.  Today, they play the Pittsburgh Pirates, with 9-10 Tommy Hanson taking the mound against the Pirates' 2-3 Brian Burres.

The Phillies, on the other hand, will take to the field twice today against the same Florida Marlins who helped put them within one game of Atlanta, which means that the Phillies could either be 2.5 games back, 1.5 games back, a half game back, or a half game ahead by the end of the day, depending on how these three games go.  

This picture above is courtesy of the United States of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service, and, as you may have noticed there is a red dot in Georgia, so clearly the loss of Atlanta's lead is being viewed as an environmental crisis and concern.