National League Review

The Washington Nationals, who host the Philadelphia Phillies in the season’s final three games, have a magic number of one to clinch the NL East. They have a magic number of three to clinch the NL top seed. Davey Johnson’s team has already clinched the first post-season appearance for a Washington D.C. baseball club since 1933. The Atlanta Braves are in Pittsburgh to face the Pirates and only three Braves’ wins and three Nationals’ losses and then a Braves’ playoff win would net the Braves a division title. Atlanta undoubtedly will be the four seed and host a one game “play in” on Friday.

The Braves’ opponent in that game almost certainly will be  the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals lead the Dodgers by 2 games with 3 game to play for each team. St. Louis won 2 of 3 vs both the Houston Astros in Houston and the Washington Nationals in St. Louis in the past week. Hence the Cardinals, very likely will be in some kind of post-season play for the 25th time. The Cincinnati Reds will be at least the two seed and the one seed if they gain a game on Washington in the final three games.

The Nationals host the Phillies while the Braves go to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates. The Reds play in St. Louis while the Giants visit the Dodgers. This year is the same calendar as 1951 and again the Giants are playing the Dodgers on Oct 1, 2 and 3. That year the Giants won the pennant on Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round The World.” Now, very likely, the game on Wednesday October 3rd, 2012, will be meaningless in determining post-season berths.