The Dodgers and San Diego Padres have faced off the postseason three times, in every even year dating back to 2020. For that streak to continue, it would likely need to happen one round later than the previous three matchups.
At the moment the Dodgers have the second-best record in the National League, two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. But with six games remaining for both teams, Los Angeles needs nine of 12 outcomes to go their way to overtake Milwaukee for the No. 1 seed. Conversely, the Dodgers are
up four games on the Atlanta Braves and need only three of 12 outcomes to go their way to clinch the No. 2 seed, which would earn them a bye past the wild card round and into the NL Division Series.
The three Dodgers-Padres postseason tussles have all been in the NLDS. The Dodgers swept away San Diego in Texas in 2020, then the Padres returned the favor by beating the 111-win Dodgers in four games in 2022. Two years later was the best battle of the three, with the Padres holding a 2-1 series lead over the Dodgers, who held San Diego scoreless for the final 24 innings of the series to survive and advance.
MLB playoffs are structure such that the No. 1 seed in each league plays the winner of the wild card series between the No. 4 and No. 5 seed, while No. 2 takes on the series between No. 3 and No. 6. Entering Tuesday, the NL wild card is a tight race
NL wild card standings
Chicago Cubs 87-69
San Diego Padres 87-69
Philadelphia Phillies 86-70
– – – – – – – – – –
Arizona Diamondbacks 82-74
*through September 21
The Cubs were 5-1 against the Padres and 6-1 against the Phillies, so would hold any tiebreakers, and Philadelphia was 6-0 against San Diego. Arizona’s last gasp might lie in their final three games against the Padres this weekend, if the Diamondbacks aren’t eliminated by then.
The point is any of those three teams could finish in just about any order from the fourth to sixth seed based on this final week. If the Padres end up the six seed, that would line them up for a potential NLDS against the No. 2 seed Dodgers, provided San Diego beats the No. 3 seed Braves.
But if the Dodgers are the No. 2 seed and the Padres are fourth or fifth, that means they couldn’t meet until the NLCS. Teams in the same division meeting in the postseason has only been possible since 1995, and two NL West teams have met in the NLCS only once — in 2007, the Diamondbacks ran into Rocktober and were swept in four games by the Colorado Rockies.
Divisional matchups in the League Championship Series has happened a total of 12 times:
1996 ALCS: Yankees over Orioles
1997 NLCS: Marlins over Braves
1999 ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox
1999 NLCS: Braves over Mets
2003 ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox
2004 NLCS: Cardinals over Astros
2004 ALCS: Red Sox over Yankees
2005 NLCS: Astros over Cardinals
2007 NLCS: Rockies over D-backs
2008 ALCS: Rays over Red Sox
2011 NLCS: Cardinals over Brewers
2023 ALCS: Rangers over Astros
Tuesday game info
- Teams: Dodgers vs. Padres
- Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
- Start time: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: SportsNet LA, TBS (out of market)
- Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)
