Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers failed to lower their magic number on Monday, but they inched closer to winning their 10th National League West division title in the last 11 years on Tuesday.
The Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres in a blowout victory, 11-2, while the Arizona Diamondbacks fell to the New York Mets, 7-4. The combination of those two outcomes lowered the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the NL West to five.
However, since the Dodgers hold the tiebreaker over the second-place Diamondbacks, they would essentially clinch with any combination of four L.A. wins and Arizona losses.
A three-way tie remains in play as well, although unlikely, which would potentially lead to the San Francisco Giants winning the NL West. The Giants have already won two of their four games against L.A. and they are set to face off seven more times in the final 11 games of the season.
San Francisco holds the tiebreaker over both the Dodgers and D-Backs in the event of a tie atop the division. They also have an elimination number of four, making their odds of tying near impossible.
The Dodgers have one final game remaining against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday before an off day on Thursday. They begin a series with the Seattle Mariners on Friday before returning home for their final homestand of the season, beginning with facing the Detroit Tigers.
The Diamondbacks play the Mets through Thursday before hosting the Chicago Cubs in a series that starts Friday. Both the Diamondbacks and Cubs are fighting for an NL Wild Card spot, with the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins and Giants all within 1.5 games behind them.
The Giants wrap up a series with the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday and then travel to Coors Field to face the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
When can the Dodgers clinch the NL West?
The Dodgers could potentially clinch the NL West on Friday with wins in their next two games, along with two losses each from the Diamondbacks and Giants in the next three days.
Because a few things would need to go right for the Dodgers to clinch on Friday, it seems more likely they would wrap up the division following their second or third game against the Mariners, or potentially at home next week.
Either way, the Dodgers have the West all but officially locked up.
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