The race for the National League’s final Wild Card spot has tightened into a true two-team chase, and the next two weeks may be where it gets decided. The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are separated by just a half-game, while the Miami Marlins, St.
Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates are still hanging around in the math. But for now, this looks like a Padres-Diamondbacks battle.
What makes this stretch so interesting is the schedule waiting on both clubs before they meet again at the end of the year. That final-weekend series could feel like an extra round of the playoffs if the standings stay close, especially since each team has already won five games in the season series.
But the road to that showdown is wildly different.
The Padres are headed to Dodger Stadium for a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who may still be chasing a bye through the Wild Card round. Even with their recent struggles, the Dodgers remain the defending champions and one of the strongest teams in baseball. San Diego will also get four more games against the Rockies next week, but the immediate task is a much tougher one.
Arizona’s path looks far softer. The Diamondbacks are going to Coors Field to face the Colorado Rockies, who are 55-88 and own the second-worst run differential in baseball. They’ve been worse for more than a month now, and they’re the kind of opponent that can hand out a little confidence without much resistance.
That’s where the schedule edge could matter. San Diego has to fight through a contender trying to lock down a bye, while Arizona gets a chance to stack wins against a team that’s long since faded. If the standings remain this tight, those different kinds of weeks could end up carrying real weight.
Still, the Padres have made this a race again with the way they’ve played since the break. They dropped their first two series afterward and fell to 50-53, but since then they’ve gone 26-15 heading into Tuesday’s action. That surge pulled them from more than five games back in July to within a half-game now.
Their rotation is in better shape, too. Nick Pivetta’s return gives them a full rotation that can actually make a difference, and Craig Stammen now has an option he didn’t have until very recently. There’s also a case to be made that the Dodgers series could be useful in its own way - a sharper test before the final-weekend showdown than a soft landing against a struggling club.
The Diamondbacks and Padres are tied in the loss column, with Arizona holding a one-win edge. Three weeks remain, and the last weekend between them still looms as the likely decider. If Arizona arrives there with momentum from beating up on the Rockies, or if San Diego survives the Dodgers and keeps rolling, the schedule will have done its part in shaping the finish.
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Tatis Looks Like Himself Again And That Changes Everything For Padres
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What stands out, too, is how much more settled Tatis appears in every part of his game. Teammates and coaches have noticed the confidence coming back, along with the versatility that gives San Diego so many ways to use him, whether it is at second base or setting the table as a leadoff hitter. For a Padres team that needs its stars to feel like stars, Tatis looking like himself again matters for more than one reason. [Read more 🡒]