The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently leading the NL West division with an excellent 93-63 record. That’s the best in baseball as of Tuesday morning, 0.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies and one game better than the New York Yankees in the American League.
The Dodgers have six games remaining in the regular season
There are six games left in the Dodgers’ regular season schedule; three at home against the San Diego Padres, and three in Colorado against the Rockies. The first three are of the utmost importance for LA, because their current lead over the Friars is three games.
The Dodgers have already punched their ticket to the postseason, but the division is still up for grabs. What do they need to do to win the NL West?
LA is in control of its own destiny and has a comfy three-game lead in the West. Only if they are swept, they would be in real trouble and lose control of their fate: if that happens, San Diego would tie them at the top entering the weekend. The Padres already own the tiebreaker regardless of the outcome of their series this week.
Two wins against the Padres will give the West to the Dodgers
To win the division without having to worry about the weekend series, the Dodgers need to win at least two of their three games against San Diego. Essentially, they need to take the three-game set.
Basically, the Dodgers can afford to lose two more games than the Padres in their remaining six. That means if, for example, LA goes 2-4 and San Diego finishes 4-2, the division would still be blue.
If the Dodgers lose three more games than the Padres, on the other hand, San Diego would win the West thanks to owning the tiebreaker. Two more wins over their last six games would also give the Dodgers a first-round bye because they have the tiebreaker against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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As for home-field advantage in the NL, the Phillies trail the Dodgers by half a game, but own the tiebreaker. Both teams look likely to get that first-round bye because the Brewers (third-best division winner in the National League) are four games behind LA and 3.5 behind Philly.
To secure home-field advantage through the World Series, the Dodgers need to finish with a better record than the Phillies because if they are tied, Philadelphia would enjoy that benefit. LA has six games left and Philadelphia has to play five.
