The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to lock up a first-round bye in the National League postseason, and they could secure it as early as Wednesday.
The Milwaukee Brewers have already clinched one of the two byes, meaning it's down to the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves for the final one. The Dodgers have a five-game lead over the Braves entering play on Wednesday.
Magic Number For Bye: 1
The Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, and the Atlanta Braves lost to the Cincinnati Reds. That took the Dodgers' magic number down from three to just one. On Wednesday night, if the Dodgers beat the Padres again, or the Braves lose to the Reds again, the Dodgers will officially clinch the last remaining bye in the National League.
If they do that, they will face the winner of the Braves and whoever the final wild-card team is in the National League. Right now, that team could be the Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs or Philadelphia Phillies.
Clinching The No. 1 Seed
The Dodgers are in play to be the top seed in the National League and to get the benefit of home-field advantage throughout the National League postseason. However, they currently trail the Brewers by one game in the standings.
That one-game deficit is really a two-game deficit since the Brewers own the season series tiebreaker over the Dodgers. With five games left to play for both teams, the Dodgers need to end up with more wins than the Brewers.
The Dodgers have two games remaining against the Padres, and the Brewers have two games remaining against the Phillies. The Dodgers' final three games will be against the San Francisco Giants on the road and the Brewers final three games will be against the St. Louis Cardinals at home.