It makes sense the DH would help the AL more -- they have a top hitter, the NL puts in a 4th OF -- but, yeah, that average runs scored thing is a bit wacky. Of course you do worse on the road ... and the AL had a long run of winning the AS game and getting HFA so perhaps the NL is more likely to be facing their best pitcher in AL parks (though this might be just as true of the AL teams).

Could it be the DH penalty? The NL will often/usually put a regular 1B/OF in the DH slot and put the extra guy in the field. But if that good hitter can't perform in the DH slot, you've lost one of your best bats. Still not gonna account for a drop of .75 runs.

In 65 games we're talking just 275-300 PA for the NL DH. Grrr ... Poz doesn't give us the slash lines.

What this probably says is that the DH is not that big a factor one way or another … certainly not as big a factor as home field advantage. But I would love it if Tony La Russa, citing this history of NL teams score more with the pitcher hitting, just had his pitcher hit in the American League park. He’s the only guy who would try something like that, and I have to say it could be his crowning tactical moment, beating hitting the pitcher eighth, beating the triple switch, beating everything. If he had his pitcher hit in Texas, and the Cardinals won the Series, Tony L would become even more of a folk hero than he already is.

Of course unlike the typical NL team, the Cardinals DO have a perfect guy to DH in Craig (or shifting Berkman or Holliday to DH), so this would be pure insanity. It's not like the Cardinals are using the DH to put the likes of Nick Punto or Corey Patterson in the lineup, unlike what we see in some years from the NL team in the World Series.

Could it be the DH penalty? The NL will often/usually put a regular 1B/OF in the DH slot and put the extra guy in the field. But if that good hitter can't perform in the DH slot, you've lost one of your best bats. Still not gonna account for a drop of .75 runs.

By my count, there have been 63 WS games in AL parks (including last night) going back to 1986. Thus, the 16 runs scored by the Cards last night raised the NL R/G average by .25.

Thus, the 16 runs scored by the Cards last night raised the NL R/G average by .25.

A quibble, only the 12.6 above average runs contributed to raising it, so it is 0.2 R/G.