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Fresh off a sweep of one possible NL wild card opponent, the Dodgers will play another this weekend when they arrive in Cincinnati. The Reds are one of several teams that could end up coming to Dodger Stadium in a wild card game.
Dropping two to the Cardinals this last week put the Dodgers in a difficult spot in their pursuit of the Giants for the division. The extra game the Dodgers have played more than the Giants to this point goes away after Thursday and the standings will ditch the half-game.
National League West standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Giants | 93 | 50 | 0.650 | --- |
| Dodgers | 91 | 53 | 0.632 | 2.5 |
San Francisco plays San Diego in 10 of the remaining 19 games, starting with four this week at Oracle Park. Currently tied for the wild card, the Padres will be fighting for their playoff lives against the best team in baseball and three more with the Dodgers who are chasing them.
The Giants have won five of the nine from the Padres this season.
This week is the toughest remaining for the Giants as they will host the NL East-leading Braves for three after the four with the Padres. The Dodgers play the Diamondbacks (47-96) for three before heading to Cincinnati.
NL wild card standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| Dodgers | 91 | 53 | 0.632 | plus 16 |
| Padres | 74 | 68 | 0.521 | --- |
| Reds | 75 | 69 | 0.521 | --- |
| Cardinals | 73 | 69 | 0.514 | 1 |
| Phillies | 72 | 71 | 0.503 | 2.5 |
| Mets | 72 | 72 | 0.5 | 3 |
The last three weeks could get interesting with so many teams bunched up for the second wild card. If the Giants and Dodgers take care of business, it could leave the door wide open for the Cardinals to step through, landing them a date with the Dodgers on October 6.
The Reds and Cardinals won’t play each other again after St. Louis took two of three this last weekend. The Mets play the Cardinals for three starting Monday before hosting the Phillies for their last three-game series against each other this season. It would seem likely that either the Mets or Phillies will all but have been eliminated by the end of the week, though not mathematically.
New York has a tough schedule to overcome if they want to make the playoffs. After the Cardinals and Phillies this week, they head to Boston and Milwaukee, then have four remaining with Miami and three with Atlanta to finish the regular season.