NL playoff standings: Cardinals win NL Central, Pirates inch closer to home game

The Cardinals won the National League Central on Friday with a drubbing of the Cubs, and the Pirates took a step toward home field advantage in the wild card with a win over the Reds in Cincinnati.

Here are Friday's relevant results.

Dodgers 11, Rockies 0: Clayton Kershaw was magnificent, but with the St. Louis win the Dodgers are locked into the No. 3 seed in the National League. Whichever of Atlanta or St. Louis doesn't claim the top spot will host the Dodgers in the NLDS beginning Thursday.

Cardinals 7, Cubs 0: Lance Lynn pitches six scoreless innings and Yadier Molina drove in three runs to give the Cardinals their seventh divisional crown in the last 14 seasons.

Pirates 4, Reds 1: A.J. Burnett was brilliant for eight innings, Marlon Byrd hit a two-run single, and Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run home run as Pittsburgh captured the opening salvo in their weekend series in Cincinnati. If the Pirates win Saturday or Sunday, they will host the Reds in the wild card game on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Braves 1, Phillies 0: Kris Medlen lost his no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning but settled for eight scoreless innings and his 15th win. Cliff Lee struck out 13 and walked none in his eight innings for Philadelphia but he had the gall to allow a run so he lost.

The Braves hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals by winning four of their seven head-to-head games during the regular season. Atlanta can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win Saturday and a Cardinals loss. The magic number for St. Louis to clinch the top spot is three, so the earliest they could do so is Sunday.

With the Dodgers locked into the No. 3 seed, we are down to three meaningful games in the National League on Saturday (all times PT):

• 10:05 a.m. - Pittsburgh (Charlie Morton) at Cincinnati (Bronson Arroyo)
• 1:15 p.m. - Chicago (Edwin Jackson) at St. Louis (Adam Wainwright)
• 4:10 p.m. - Philadelphia (Ethan Martin) at Atlanta (Mike Minor)