The National League playoff picture has been further complicated by Hurricane Helene causing the postponement of two Mets vs. Braves games. The Diamondbacks will complete their regular season slate of games against the San Diego Padres, who look increasingly locked into the NL’s No. 4 seed as the top Wild Card. Entering the series, the magic number to clinch is three with three games to go, so Arizona controls their playoff destiny.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With the Mets and Braves series set to be resolved in a doubleheader on Monday, the Diamondbacks want to ensure they aren’t nervously watching that game. The easiest path would be taking care of their own business. The No. 4 seed is still in play but would require the Padres to lose out, although Arizona certainly has some degree of control over that outcome. A series sweep of the Padres would be an ideal but unlikely scenario, so they’ll need some help to seal the deal.
That’s where we look at what the other two teams in the Wild Card race. The Braves will host the Kansas City Royals while the Mets travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. The Brewers are locked into the No. 3 seed, as the Phillies have already clinched a first round bye and the Dodgers are a win away from doing the same.
There isn’t much incentive for the Brewers to put the pedal to the metal, but the same cannot be said for the Royals. Kansas City has a two-game lead over the Minnesota Twins, but due to the Twins having the tiebreaker their magic number to clinch is two. So expect them to play hard all the way to the end.
Since the Diamondbacks’ magic number to clinch a postseason berth is three, that means a total of three wins from Arizona plus losses by both the Braves and Mets gets the job done. Those three series are the only series that matter to the Arizona as a whole, every other series is mostly irrelevant to their next destination. The ideal situation is for the playoff spot to be clinched before the Braves and Mets play on Monday.
Hurricane Helene threatens to wreak havoc on Diamondbacks season
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcD8393
