National League Divisional Update

The National League pennant winner will be without the home advantage in the World Series. 22 of the last 27 World Series have been won by the team with the home advantage. This great run began with the advent of best of seven League Championship Series in 1985.

In the NL East the Atlanta Braves were denied a berth in the division series the last two seasons in heartbreaking fashion. In 2011 they lost a big lead in the wild card race and were eliminated on the last day of the regular season. In 2012 the Braves  lost in the extra one game playoff at home. At the All Star break, they have a nice 6 game lead in a bid to get into the division series this season.

In the NL Central, the St.Louis Cardinals, the team that eliminated the Braves in both of those seasons, have a one game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Meanwhile in the NL West, a five game over .500 record is good enough for the Arizona Diamondbacks to have a two and a half game lead. The Los Angeles Dodgers at .500 and with their big payroll are fortunate to be just two and a half games out. The defending world champion San Francisco Giants, eight games under .500 are six and a half games out of first place.