by Ken Rosenthal

Any of the four qualifiers — including the wild-card-holding Rockies — can finish with the league's best record, gaining home-field advantage in the first two rounds.

The Dodgers, owners of the league's best record for a total of 155 days, according to STATS LLC, could end up with the fourth-best overall mark — and the wild card.

Down the stretch they come!

Dodgers: 93-67.

Phillies: 92-68.

Cardinals: 91-69.

Rockies: 92-68.

The Phillies, who clinched the NL East on Wednesday, host the Marlins this weekend (Saturday, MLB on FOX, 4:10 p.m. ET). The Cardinals host the Brewers. And the Dodgers — ahem — host the Rockies.

Want to talk first-round matchups? Better have an active imagination.

If two teams tie for the league's best overall record, the tiebreaker will be head-to-head record between those clubs.

If three teams tie for best record, the top seed will go to the club with the best combined mark against both of the other division champions.

That team, under every possible scenario, would be the Phillies.

However this turns out, the only first-round matchups that cannot happen are Phillies-Cardinals and Dodgers- Rockies. The other four possibilities: Phillies-Rockies, Phillies- Dodgers, Cardinals-Rockies and Cardinals-Dodgers — remain in play.

Andre Ethier's struggles make him just another Dodger. (Jeff Gross / Getty Images)

Of course, calling this a "race" might be stretching it.

The Phillies did not start second baseman Chase Utley and center fielder Shane Victorino on Thursday, falling to the Astros, 5-3, in a predictable, post-clinch letdown.

The Rockies clinched their postseason berth Thursday, and heaven knows what condition they will be in for the Dodgers, against whom they were 3-12 this season going into Friday.

The Cardinals are my pick to win the league; their top two starting pitchers, right-handers Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, are a combined 19-4 with a 2.01 ERA since the All-Star break.

All three division leaders, however, look rather uninspired.

The Cardinals went into Friday having dropped 11 of their past 18. The Phillies needed a pre-game pep talk from manager Charlie Manuel on Tuesday. And those rollicking Dodgers went a pathetic 3-6 on their trip to Washington, Pittsburgh and San Diego.

It is not uncommon for teams to stumble into the postseason, then suddenly revive — see the 2006 Cardinals. But my goodness, the Dodgers are difficult to like right now.

Andre Ethier is 1-for-30, Manny Ramirez 4-for-27. For the season, Ethier is batting .189 against lefties. And check out these September batting averages: Matt Kemp .241, Ramirez .229, Ethier .212, Russell Martin .207.

The Dodgers' rotation, meanwhile, remains a mystery. Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda was scratched from his final regular-season start because of a stiff neck. Three other righties — Chad Billingsley, Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla — are vying for one or two spots, depending upon Kuroda's condition.

The Phillies' bullpen is an even bigger mystery. Maybe Ryan Madson will close. Maybe Brad Lidge, maybe J.A. Happ, maybe Tyler Walker. And look! There's Mitch Williams, getting loose.

Happ could start Game 4 over right-hander Pedro Martinez if the Phillies face the Rockies, giving the Phils three left-handed starters against a Colorado club that is 25-25 in games started by lefties, 66-43 in games started by righties. Then again, Happ could be a weapon out of the bullpen against either the Rockies or Dodgers.

Oops, there I go, getting ahead of myself.

Before weighing first-round opponents, each of the NL qualifiers must weigh the value of finishing with the league's best record. Playoff-bound teams normally prefer to rest players and line up their rotations on the final weekend. But in this case, the stakes are higher.

The Rockies finished 51-30 at Coors Field, the second-best home record in the majors. Going into Friday, the Dodgers were 48-30 at home, the Cardinals 46-32. The Phillies' 48-33 road mark is the best in the majors. But they went 7-0 at home in the postseason a year ago, winning the World Series.

By Sunday night, it will all be settled.

Bring on the freaky finale.