Having the better record get an automatic 1 game advantage would help fix some of the shenanigans we saw earlier this week.

The Padres lost Sunday’s game on purpose to basically force the Mets and Braves to play two on Monday, knowing that would help them get better pitching matchups in their series.

Then the Mets basically lost game 2 on Monday so they could save a better pitcher for the playoffs.

Make those last few games of the season meaningful so that teams are incentivized to win every game.