The St. Louis Cardinals have yet to clinch the division, but they have the best record in the National League. That speaks volumes of how tough the N.L. Central has been. After the Atlanta Braves lost to the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals, N.L. home field advantage now belongs to St. Louis.
This is bad news for the Braves as their home record is far better than their road record. In colloquial terms, the Braves suck on the road. The Cardinals are still playing hard and winning games, finding themselves at the top of their division. It has not been easy for the Cardinals as they battled against two of baseball's best teams this season.
The A.L. East was probably the most competitive division, being that four teams had a chance to enter the playoffs. However, once the Tampa Bay Rays dropped off, the division was clearly the Boston Red Sox's to lose. There was no doubt the Red Sox were going to lock it up and that's exactly what happened. As a matter of fact, since the topic at hand is home field advantage through the postseason, the Red Sox, if they can finish with the best record in the A.L., will have the chance to lock up the advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Cardinals have a chance to lock up the N.L. Central with one more win and they can dominate the league if they can win at least two more games. They own a half-game lead over the Braves in the race for home field advantage. The Cardinals don't need home field advantage as badly as the Braves, but they are only five games over .500 when playing on the road. At home, the Cardinals own the second best record behind Atlanta, going 50-31.
For the Braves, they could at least get home field advantage in the N.L. Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. All it takes is Atlanta to win a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, while requiring a loss from the Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants.
Stay posted with Sports World Report as we bring you the latest from the Wild Card standings and playoff standings as the 2013 MLB Postseason is right around the corner.
