Padres control their own destiny to win NL West but it might be too tall of a task

The San Diego Padres already have a cushion in the National League Wild Card race and can clinch a spot in the playoffs as early as Sunday. But this team has its sights set on even loftier aspirations: beating out the hated Los Angeles Dodgers for an NL West division title.

With a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox Saturday, San Diego (89-66) has moved within three games of the Dodgers (92-63) in the NL West standings. The Padres have already clinched the season series to hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Los Angeles and therefore control their own destiny in the division race.

In other words, it doesn't matter what the Dodgers do in the final week of the 2024 regular season; as long as the Padres win out in their final seven games, they will recapture the NL West title for the first time since 2006. It would be a major upset of the Dodgers, who have won the division in 10 of the last 11 seasons, and the Padres are tantalizingly close to pulling it off.

Padres control their own destiny to win NL West, but it might be too tall of a task

To add even more excitement to the division race, the Padres and Dodgers will face one another for one final NL West rivalry series this week in Los Angeles. As the competition stiffens, San Diego would love nothing more than to play spoiler on the road.

The Dodgers are tied with the Philadelphia Phillies at the top of the National League standings, and they will need to maintain their position if they want to earn a bye in the playoffs and advance to the Division series. The Dodgers are just 9-8 so far in September, due in large part to the excess of injuries they have had to endure.

The Padres, meanwhile, are 12-5 so far in September amid a late-season surge. They will have their work cut out for them in their final two series of the season, though, facing off against a pair of playoff teams in the Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Buckle up, Friars fans. It's about to get interesting.

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