SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have the chance to assure themselves of a postseason berth Tuesday evening when they open a three-game series at 7:10 p.m. against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
A victory by the Padres or a loss by the Atlanta Braves to the New York Mets will assure the Padres of their third postseason berth in five seasons and eighth in their 56 seasons in the National League.
The Padres (90-66) lead Atlanta (85-71) by five games, with both teams having six games to play. Because they won the season series, the Padres have the tiebreaker advantage over the Braves.
The Padres will also be trying to keep their slim hopes of a National League West title alive. They trail the Dodgers (93-63) by three games. The Dodgers would assure themselves of their third consecutive National League West title and 11th in the past 12 seasons with any combination of victories and Padres losses totaling four.
The website Baseball Prospectus gives Los Angeles a 96% chance of winning the division and the Padres a 4% chance based on its proprietary system that projects player and team performance.
The Dodgers have led the division each day since April 1 when an 8-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants improved their record to 5-2.
Los Angeles assured itself of a postseason berth Thursday.
Michael King will pitch for the Padres against rookie Brandon Knack in a matchup of right-handers.
King has a 12-9 record and 3.04 ERA. The Padres are 18-12 in King's 30 starts. King is 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA in four appearances against the Dodgers, including a 1-0 record and 4.11 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance this season.
Knack has a 3-4 record and 3.39 ERA. Los Angeles is 4-7 in Knack's 11 starts. He will be facing the Padres for the first time.
Dodgers' designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is 5-for-12 with three home runs and four RBIs against King.
The Padres are 7-3 against Los Angeles in 2024, including a 2-1 record at Dodger Stadium. The teams also split two games in Seoul, South Korea to start the season.
The Padres have won four consecutive games and eight of their last nine. Their 40-17 record since the All-Star break is the best in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers' 37-22 record since the All-Star break is third-best behind the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks (38-22).
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