With the magic number at three, the Los Angeles Dodgers know they can clinch a bye in their next two games.
There's a world where the Los Angeles Dodgers go 0-3 against the San Diego Padres but still clinch the first-round bye.
Knowing their magic number is three, getting swept by the Padres doesn't mean they can't still clinch.
The Atlanta Braves host the Cincinnati Reds in their final three games of the year, and if the Reds were to sweep the Braves, that would bail out the Dodgers and still get them the bye.
Obviously, the Dodgers don't plan to go 0-3. Any combination of a Dodgers win and Braves loss takes one off the magic number, so the soonest they could clinch the bye is Wednesday, Sept. 23.
In an ideal world, the Dodgers sweep the Padres, and even if the Braves were to go 3-0 against the Reds, it wouldn't matter.
With six games remaining, the Braves could go 6-0 but still fail to get the bye as long as manager Dave Roberts leads the Dodgers to a 3-3 record.
Dodgers know which Padres pitchers they'll be facing
At the time of writing, the Dodgers have yet to reveal which players will be starting in any of these three games.
San Diego still has some work to do in order to clinch a playoff spot, but they could indeed clinch with a pair of wins over the Dodgers.
The Padres have lined up Michael King, Robbie Ray, and Nick Pivetta for this crucial divisional showdown.
This is a series that means far more to the Padres than it does to the Dodgers, but the last thing LA wants to do is get swept and then have everything come down to their final series of the year.
Padres pitchers are a combined 28-19
This is a strong pitching duo for the Padres to be throwing the Dodgers way, and they wasted no time getting right down to business.
King will pitch the series opener, bringing his 12-9 record and 3.03 ERA to UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.
King's 154 strikeouts are the most by a starting pitcher in this series, but it's worth noting Ray isn't too far behind.
San Diego knew they needed to do something at the deadline, so they brought in Ray, who's currently 13-8 with a 3.60 ERA and 138 strikeouts.
Together, that's a dangerous one-two combo to start the series, but then things will get interesting in the finale, as Pivetta is only 3-2 this year, though he has a strong 3.30 ERA
