The Arizona Diamondbacks are still alive.
It’s going to take a lot of work to get into the playoffs now, but they have two different scenarios — one involving the San Diego Padres, and one involving the Philadelphia Phillies. They could also run down the Chicago Cubs, too.
The NL Wild Card standings are currently led by Padres, with the Cubs and Phillies just behind.
The Diamondbacks are the only team not in the field who could still catch up with four games to play.
Action will resume Thursday, Sept. 24, and then teams will play through the weekend to the final day of the MLB regular season, Sunday, Sept. 27.
Will Arizona still be standing at the end? It is unlikely, but it’s still possible.
Diamondbacks-Padres Playoff Path
The Diamondbacks have some control over their destiny as it pertains to the Padres.
San Diego enters Thursday at 88-70, while Arizona is 84-74.
But the key: The Diamondbacks play a three-game series in San Diego to end the regular season.
For that to matter, the Diamondbacks need to beat the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, and they need the Padres to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
That would set up for an Arizona sweep to knock the Padres out on the weekend.
The ONLY scenario where the Dbacks catch the Padres:
AZ beats Colorado tomorrow.
SD loses to LA tomorrow.AND THEN. They have to sweep the Padres in Petco Park. pic.twitter.com/SRgcA5vEgT
— SleeperDiamondbacks (@SleeperDbacks) September 24, 2026
Diamondbacks-Phillies Playoff Path
Arizona could catch Philadelphia to end the season, too, but that depends a lot on what the Phillies do.
The key here is that the Diamondbacks hold the tiebreaker on the Phillies, so they just have to gain three on Philadelphia in the final four games.
If Arizona goes 4-0, then the Phillies can go 1-3. If Arizona goes 3-1, then it would have to be 0-4 for Philadelphia.
The Phillies do have the toughest closing schedule of this group. They host the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night, then welcome the AL’s top team, the Tampa Bay Rays, for a three-game weekend series.
Diamondbacks-Cubs Playoff Path
There’s only one way for Arizona to catch the Cubs: a 4-0 finish for Arizona, and an 0-4 finish for the Cubs.
Chicago is just three games up, but the Cubbies hold the tiebreaker on the Diamondbacks, so Arizona would actually have to outdo them by four games down the stretch.
The Cubs host the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon, and if they win, they’d ensure that Arizona can’t catch them.
Chicago then travels to Fenway Park to play the Boston Red Sox in a three-game set to end the regular season.
Diamondbacks’ Playoff Path to Catching Padres, Phillies is Very Specific