The Dodgers took care of business by winning five of six games last week, giving them six wins in their last seven contests. But there are only two more weeks left in the regular season and an uphill climb ahead for them to earn a bye into the Division Series.
NL West standings
Dodgers 84-65 (.564) – – –
Padres 82-68 (.547) 2 1/2 GB
While the Dodgers took a three-game series in San Francisco, the Padres won three of four at home against the Rockies. Los Angeles holds the tiebreaker and has a magic number of 10 to win
the division; any combination of Dodgers wins and Padres losses that total 10 gives LA the National League West. Put another way, the Dodgers have 13 games left and the Padres have 12 games remaining, and they don’t play each other again.
Los Angeles needs 10 of 25 outcomes to go their way to win the division, while San Diego needs 16 of 25 outcomes to fall their way.
National League playoff seeding
The Milwaukee Brewers were the first team to clinch a postseason berth, doing so on Saturday when the Mets lost to the Rangers.
- Brewers 91-59 (.607)
- Phillies 89-61 (.593)
- Dodgers 84-65 (.564)
- Cubs 85-64 (.570)
- Padres 82-68 (.547)
- Mets 77-73 (.513)
- Giants 75-74 (.503)
- Reds 74-75 (.497)
Milwaukee holds a two-game lead over Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed, and own the tiebreaker over the Phillies by winning four of their six head-to-head matchups. The Phillies are still in good shape to earn a bye into the NLDS, holding a 4 1/2-game lead over the Dodgers.
Luckily for fans of good baseball, the Dodgers host the Phillies for three games at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday night. Even if the Dodgers sweep the Phillies, they’d still be 1 1/2 games back for the No. 2 seed, but in that scenario would also hold the tiebreaker over Philadelphia. Bottom line is, the Dodgers likely need a series win over the Phillies at bare minimum to still cling to hope for the No. 2 seed.
Current scenario: Dodgers win division as No. 3 seed, host the sixth-seed Mets in the best-of-3 wild card round. The Giants and Reds are still clinging to hope at a Mets collapse for that final playoff spot. New York lost eight straight before eking out a win on Sunday over the Rangers.
Up next: Dodgers vs. Phillies, Brewers vs. Angels, Cubs at Pirates, Padres at Mets, Giants at D-backs, Reds at Cardinals
