The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the final month of the regular season with a slim lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres in the National League West standings, but they were able to expand that from a more narrow lead after an excellent close to August.

In last week’s update, L.A. held just a three-game advantage over their divisional rivals. After winning four of their last six matchups, they now own a five-game advantage over the Diamondbacks and Padres.

The Dodgers also have the best record in MLB at 82-55, which is a game and a half ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.

They are nearly a lock to make it back to the playoffs, and all that’s really left to determine for them is their seeding in October. They also clinched a franchise record 14th consecutive winning season.

Dodgers standings update

Dodgers

The Dodgers began the previous week with a loss to the Baltimore Orioles, but went on to win their next four games before suffering a blowout defeat to the Diamondbacks on Sunday. They have one more matchup with the Diamondbacks before moving on to the next series.

The week ahead for the Dodgers includes the Angel Stadium portion of the Freeway Series and the start of a new homestand against the Cleveland Guardians.

Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks, one of the hottest teams in baseball since the All-Star break, have hit a bit of a rough patch.

The team has dropped four of their last six games, including two to the Dodgers in a pivotal series at Chase Field. The teams will wrap up their four-game set on Labor Day.

After that, the Diamondbacks will go on the road for six matchups against the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros.

Padres

The Padres had mixed results this past week, splitting a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals before taking two of three against the Tampa Bay Rays.

San Diego is now returning to Southern California for a six-game homestand against the Detroit Tigers and Giants.