As the final two weeks of the regular season commence, the Padres sit 2.5 games behind the LA Dodgers in the race for the NL West division pennant. However, since the Dodgers own the tiebreaker, it effectively counts as a three-game deficit instead.
The good news for the Padres is that the remaining schedule softens considerably down the line, with three of their four opponents sitting on the bubble or worse. The Dodgers, on the other hand, have their work cut out for them, facing two current division leaders mixed with two teams on the fringe of the Wild Card race.