Padres become fifth National League team to secure MLB playoff spot

The San Diego Padres became the fifth National League team to secure a spot in the 2025 Major League Baseball playoffs after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4, in 11 innings on Monday, Sept. 22.

The Padres sit 2½ games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who were idle on Monday but open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Tuesday, Sept. 23. The Dodgers’ magic number to win the division over the Padres is 3.

The Padres won two of three games against the Dodgers in a late-August series in San Diego, taking a brief lead in the division. However, the Padres were unable to take advantage of the moment. While the Dodgers came out of that series and went a middling 4-6 from Aug. 25 through Sept. 5, the Padres had a run of eight losses over 10 games. San Diego has trailed Los Angeles by as few as one game and as many as four ever since.

By securing their spot in the postseason, the Padres now have reached the playoffs in four of the past six seasons. San Diego had five total playoff appearances in the 51 seasons prior to 2020, including two World Series appearances in 1984 and 1998.

Teams that have clinched 2025 MLB playoff spots

National League

Chicago Cubs: NL wild card (magic number to clinch NL No. 4 seed is 4 against San Diego Padres)
Los Angeles Dodgers: At least NL wild card
Milwaukee Brewers: NL Central division (magic number to clinch NL No. 1 seed is 3 against Philadelphia Phillies)
Philadelphia Phillies: NL East division (magic number to clinch NL No. 2 seed is 2 against Los Angeles Dodgers)
San Diego Padres: At least NL wild card

American League

Toronto Blue Jays: At least AL wild card

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