Now that September is here, we are officially on postseason watch, with the Dodgers currently in a four-team hodgepodge in which the No. 2 seed in the National League is only three games up on the No. 5 seed. That’s a thin line between earning a bye into the Division Series to having to play an entire wild card series on the road.
NL West standings
Dodgers 78-59 (.569) – – –
Padres 76-61 (.555) 2 GB
It’s way too early to talk magic numbers given that there are still four weeks left to play, but if you are into such
a thing, the Dodgers’ magic number to win the division is 23 — any combination of Dodgers wins and Padres losses that total 23 would give the NL West to Los Angeles, who owns the tiebreaker between the two teams.
National League seeding
- Brewers 85-53 (.616)
- Phillies 79-58 (.577)
- Dodgers 78-59 (.569)
- Cubs 78-59 (.569)
- Padres 76-61 (.555)
- Mets 73-64 (.533)
- Reds 69-68 (.504)
Cincinnati earns a mention here by still having a winning record, though they are still on the outside looking in and four games back of the Mets for the final wild card spot.
The Dodgers would lose any two-team tiebreakers with the Brewers, Cubs, or Mets. The Phillies beat Los Angeles two out of three, but they still have three games remaining against one another this month.
Up next: Brewers vs. Phillies, Dodgers at Pirates, Padres vs. Orioles, Cubs vs. Braves, Mets at Tigers
Current setup
If the current seedings hold, the Dodgers as the third seed would face the No. 6 Mets in the best-of-three wild card, with the entire series at Dodger Stadium from September 30-October 1. But again, a lot can change in the next four weeks.
