Atlanta Braves’ Chipper Jones, right, celebrates with teammate Freddie Freeman after the Braves defeated the Washington Nationals 5-1 in a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012, in Atlanta.ATLANTA – If the National League baseball playoffs began today instead of Oct. 5, the Washington Nationals would receive the No. 1 seed, since they currently own the NL’s best record.
But where would the Nats play the first game of their best-of-five division series against the NL wildcard game winner?
“On the road,” said Washington manager Davey Johnson late Sunday afternoon at Turner Field as he stood in the visitor’s dugout, hours before the Nationals’ 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
“You’d think the team with the best record would open at home, wouldn’t you? But I try not to worry about things I have no control over. It is what it is. I understand they’ll look at it again after the season. Right now, I just want to make sure we win the division.”
A lot about the wildcard round perplexes, beginning with the fact that it’s a single-game playoff. So if the Braves continue to hold their comfortable lead over St. Louis and the LA Dodgers for the first wildcard spot rather than the second, they’ll host the team with the NL’s fifth best record on Friday, Oct. 5. The winner advances to the best-of-five division series on Sunday, Oct. 7.