The Diamondbacks, who won their first two games in a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, face yet another must-win game in Denver (12:10 p.m. MST/3:10 p.m. ET) Thursday, Sept. 24.
There is some good news that could help the Diamondbacks: They hold the tiebreaker over the Padres and Phillies (but not the Cubs).
Beginning play Sept. 24, Arizona was three games behind the Phillies and Cubs, and four behind the Padres.
So how much of a chance do they have of making the Major League Baseball playoffs? Here's a rundown of baseball's playoff races and what teams already have clinched.
Diamondbacks chasing a wild-card playoff spot
Chasing the Phillies: The magic number for the Phillies to stave off the Diamondbacks is two (any combination of Diamondbacks losses and Phillies wins), so Arizona
can't really afford to lose more than one game.
The Phillies wrap up their series at home against the Milwaukee Brewers today before hosting the American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game, weekend series.
Chasing the Cubs: The magic number for the Cubs to hold off the Diamondbacks is only one, because the Cubs own the tiebreaker over Arizona. Chicago finishes its three-game series today in Chicago against the Miami Marlins. The Cubs then play the Boston Red Sox in a Friday, Sept. 25, doubleheader and a single game on Saturday, Sept. 26 (the Sunday, Sept. 27, matchup was moved due to predicted bad weather).
Chasing the Padres: The magic number for the Padres to finish ahead of the Diamondbacks is one (any Diamondbacks loss or Padres win), so Arizona can't afford to lose today. The Padres can clinch a playoff spot today with a win over the Dodgers OR a Diamondbacks loss.
The Diamondbacks visit the Padres to conclude the regular season with a three-game series in San Diego.
Elsewhere in the MLB postseason chase, per MLB.com:
The Guardians can clinch a postseason berth today with a win at Boston OR a loss by the Rangers vs. the Mets OR a loss by the Astros at the Athletics.
The White Sox can clinch a postseason berth today with a win at Kansas City.
The Red Sox can clinch the No. 5 seed in the American League today with a win vs. Cleveland OR a loss by the White Sox at Kansas City.
The Phillies can clinch a postseason berth today with a win vs. Milwaukee AND a loss by either the Diamondbacks at Colorado or the Padres at the Dodgers.
The Brewers can clinch the No. 1 seed in the National League and home-field advantage throughout the postseason today with a win at Philadelphia AND a loss by the Dodgers vs. San Diego.
The Dodgers can clinch a bye in the wild-card Series and home-field advantage in the National League Division Series today with a win vs. San Diego OR a loss by the Braves vs. Cincinnati.
Each of the best-of-three wild-card series is set to begin on Sept. 29, while each of the best-of-five division series is set to begin on Oct. 3.
The Rays, Brewers, Dodgers, Yankees, Braves and Red Sox have all clinched a postseason spot.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks playoff scenarios today. Need a win and some help
