Where it stands entering Thursday’s games: San Diego (88-70) won at Los Angeles on Wednesday while the Cubs and Phillies lost, moving the Padres a game clear and into the No. 4 seed. They clinch a playoff berth today with a win over the Dodgers or an Arizona loss. Today’s game: Padres at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. ET, live score and final. Every contender’s scenarios are on the MLB clinch scenarios page.
NL Wild Card Race
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | L10 | Strk | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Padres | 88 | 70 | .557 | 9 | 8-2 | W1 | 49-29 | 39-41 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 87 | 71 | .551 | 6 | 5-5 | L1 | 42-35 | 45-36 |
| Chicago Cubs | 87 | 71 | .551 | 12 | 5-5 | L2 | 45-35 | 42-36 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 84 | 74 | .532 | 13 | 5-5 | W4 | 45-36 | 39-38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates e | 80 | 78 | .506 | 19 | 6-4 | L1 | 43-37 | 37-41 |
| Miami Marlins e | 78 | 80 | .494 | 15 | 6-4 | W2 | 45-33 | 33-47 |
| St. Louis Cardinals e | 77 | 81 | .487 | 22 | 4-6 | W1 | 38-43 | 39-38 |
| Washington Nationals e | 75 | 84 | .472 | 18.5 | 7-3 | W2 | 37-41 | 38-43 |
| New York Mets e | 73 | 85 | .462 | 20 | 4-6 | W2 | 36-45 | 37-40 |
| Cincinnati Reds e | 73 | 85 | .462 | 26 | 4-6 | L1 | 38-43 | 35-42 |
| San Francisco Giants e | 65 | 94 | .409 | 32.5 | 3-7 | L2 | 37-41 | 28-53 |
| Colorado Rockies e | 57 | 101 | .361 | 40 | 2-8 | L3 | 32-48 | 25-53 |
Division leaders are excluded. The top three clubs here hold the wild card places.
Standings from BALLDONTLIE. Updated September 24, 4:18 pm ET.
NL West
National League West
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | L10 | Strk | Home | Road | Magic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers x | 97 | 61 | .614 | — | 7-3 | L1 | 51-29 | 46-32 | -4 |
| San Diego Padres | 88 | 70 | .557 | 9 | 8-2 | W1 | 49-29 | 39-41 | 14 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 84 | 74 | .532 | 13 | 5-5 | W4 | 45-36 | 39-38 | 18 |
| San Francisco Giants e | 65 | 94 | .409 | 32.5 | 3-7 | L2 | 37-41 | 28-53 | 37 |
| Colorado Rockies e | 57 | 101 | .361 | 40 | 2-8 | L3 | 32-48 | 25-53 | 45 |
Standings from BALLDONTLIE. Updated September 24, 4:18 pm ET.
How the Magic Number Works
A magic number is the combined total of wins by the leader and losses by the closest chaser needed to make a race mathematically over. Every Padres win drops it by one, and so does every loss by the team chasing them. When a tiebreaker is involved, the team that holds it needs one fewer. The tables above update on their own as games finish.
Related
Clinch scenarios · Playoff picture · NL wild card standings · Phillies magic number · Cubs magic number · Tiebreaker rules