The Dodgers have six regular-season games left before October takes over, and their final week carries more weight than a club with another NL West flag might suggest. Los Angeles has already reached the postseason for a 14th consecutive year and captured the division for the 13th time in that stretch, but the path into the tournament is still being shaped.
The defending World Series champions hold a four-game edge on Atlanta for the National League’s No. 2 record. Protecting that position would send the Dodgers directly to the Division Series, with home-field advantage and a first-round bye rather than another trip through the Wild Card round.
Quick facts
- Los Angeles is 14-5 in September.
- The Dodgers lead the Braves by four games for the NL’s second-best record.
- San Diego opens a three-game set at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
- Andy Pages is expected back Tuesday, with Shohei Ohtani targeted for Wednesday.
- Roki Sasaki is set to return as a bullpen option.
That bye would be valuable beyond bracket positioning. Ohtani is working back from right biceps and left knee issues, while Pages has been sidelined by a fractured left hand. Freddie Freeman and Blake Snell also are managing physical concerns as the calendar turns.
The Padres provide the week’s immediate measuring stick. The Dodgers have not faced a contending opponent since Atlanta swept them from Aug. 25-27, and San Diego arrives still chasing its own postseason berth and a better Wild Card seed.
There is also a chance these clubs meet again soon. If the Padres land in the third National League Wild Card spot, they could wind up on Los Angeles’ side of the postseason bracket.
Returns without a runway
Pages is expected to be activated for Tuesday’s opener, and Ohtani could follow a day later. Neither player is scheduled to appear in a rehab game, leaving only a small number of regular-season at-bats to regain timing before the postseason begins.
Sasaki, out with a blister on his right middle finger, has faced hitters but will rejoin the club in relief. The Dodgers had initially planned to keep him ready as rotation insurance, but his late return has shifted him toward bullpen work.
The lineup has found its rhythm lately, but the return of Pages and Ohtani would change its October ceiling. Their remaining games will be watched closely because the club has little time to let either player ease back into competition.
Freeman and Snell remain central questions
Freeman has gone 10-for-56 since Sept. 1, a .179 mark, while dealing with right patellar tendinitis. His power production has been down since July, and he is trying to find a swing adjustment that can carry him through the postseason.
Snell, meanwhile, is tentatively lined up to start one of the final three games in San Francisco despite left groin tightness. The Dodgers need to be certain the issue will not worsen, because he is a major part of a postseason rotation that also includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal and Tyler Glasnow.
Beyond those four starters, the club’s pitching depth thins quickly. That makes Snell’s final tune-up more than a routine September assignment.
Roster spots still in play
The last week is also an audition for players near the edge of the postseason roster. Josue De Paula, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 overall prospect, has played only 10 Major League games but has put himself in position to become the club’s primary left-handed bench bat.
A strong closing push could make that choice straightforward. The bullpen, though, may remain the least settled unit because both health and performance are still moving pieces.
Edwin Díaz threw two scoreless, low-leverage innings after coming off the injured list and can strengthen his case with more clean work. Edgardo Henriquez, recovering from a lower back strain, cannot return during the regular season, but his potential availability in October could significantly affect the Dodgers’ late-inning options.
For a team already headed to October, these six games are about arriving there whole, sharp and properly arranged. The standings matter, but so do the knees, the groins, the swings and the final few innings that will decide who gets a seat in the postseason clubhouse.
