Padres face setback in race for home-field advantage in playoffs

SAN DIEGO — The Padres will enter their final home series of the regular season with one goal: Earn another series at home next week.

San Diego wrapped up an eventful three-game set against Milwaukee with a 3-1 loss on Wednesday afternoon. On Monday, the Padres clinched their place in the postseason. On Tuesday, they ensured theyâ€d finish no lower than the No. 5 seed in the National League.

But with their loss in the finale, the Padres made things difficult on themselves in the race for home-field advantage in next weekâ€s Wild Card Series. As of the final out on Wednesday, they trailed both the Dodgers and Cubs by two games. The Padres (87-72) have three games left in their regular season — against the Diamondbacks this weekend at Petco Park. (Both L.A. and Chicago have five left, counting their own games on Wednesday evening.)

Catching the Dodgers for the NL West title now seems like a particularly tall task, given that Los Angeles owns that tiebreaker. If the Padres canâ€t reel in L.A., theyâ€re bound for a Wild Card Series against the Cubs next week. The likeliest location for that series is still Wrigley Field, but the Padres would at least own that tiebreaker if they can make up two games on Chicago in the coming days.

Right-hander Dylan Cease pitched five innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts on Wednesday in his final tuneup before the postseason. But it remains unclear how Cease might fit into the Padres†Wild Card Series plans.

With his performance on Wednesday, Ceaseâ€s ERA sits at 4.55. Thatâ€s not a number befitting Dylan Cease, and the truth is, he probably got a bit unlucky along the way. Heâ€ll also be the first to admit that he hasnâ€t been nearly consistent enough.

Manager Mike Shildt has more or less already tabbed Nick Pivetta as his Game 1 starter. It seems most likely that Michael King would start Game 2. Thereâ€s an opening for Game 3, and Cease is an obvious candidate to fill it (alongside Yu Darvish and Randy Vásquez). But the Padres canâ€t afford some of the blow-ups that Cease has been prone to this season.

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