With the Braves winning and Philadelphia losing tonight, the NL playoff picture is coming into focus. The Cardinals have home field clinched. The Braves are going to win the east and have the 2nd best record in the NL. Those teams will host the first round. The Astros now have a two-game lead on the Phillies and are in a good position going into the final week of the season.

The Astros and Cardinals play two games early next week. What will the Cardinals do? If they lose those two games, Houston is likely to be the Wild Card, and St. Louis would get to open against San Diego. If St. Louis wins those two games, Philadelphia has a chance to catch Houston, and then the Cardinals might face the Phillies in the first round.

I'd rather have my team facing the Padres than the Phillies. Will La Russa start his scrubs or do his best to win those games?