As the season winds down, more and more teams are getting closer to clinching a playoff berth. The Yankee, Rays, Twins, Rangers, and Reds are all sitting very comfortably in the driver’s seat as their respective magic numbers drop by the day.

This is not quite the case in the wild, wild NL West.

The Padres’ struggles have opened the door for both the Giants and Rockies. Now only 1.5 games separate the three teams.

The Rockies, seemingly dead in the water two weeks ago, are pounding teams in September and are now a legitimate contender.

The Giants pitching staff has righted the ship and might just run away with the title if the Padres don’t figure out how to score more runs.

And at this point in the season, that isn’t going to happen.

Two of the three could conceivably make the playoffs as the Braves are starting to fall apart. They have relinquished the NL East lead to the Phillies. Now they are just hanging on for dear life in the wild-card hunt.

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