ChampsThe National League's 5-1 win over the American League at the 82nd annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Chase Field Tuesday night promises the winner of its pennant later this year home field advantage in the World Series. The top two teams in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies (57-34) and Atlanta Braves (54-38), have better records than every other club in the Senior Circuit, and as such each team is in a position to capture home field advantage throughout the postseason by winning the division. At 52-40, the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants—currently in first place in the NL West by three games over the Arizona Diamondbacks (49-43)—are two games worse than the Braves.
although the Giants, as division winners, would still get home field advantage vs. a Wild Card team in a playoff series due to seeding. In short, there is much more at stake than just a division crown for the Phillies and Braves, considering that each team—no matter which wins the NL East—will likely finish with a better win-loss mark than the winners of the Central and West. The Milwaukee Brewers (49-43), who just acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez from the New York Mets in this season's first significant trade, are tied atop the Central with the St. Louis Cardinals (49-43). The mediocrity of the Central division leaves the Giants as the only threat to challenge the team that wins the East for home field advantage, but they have some ground to make up. While, as cited earlier, San Francisco is within reach of the Braves' re
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