NL Playoff Picture 2018: Predicting Final Standings and Wild-Card Teams

The Los Angeles Dodgers can clinch the fifth and final playoff berth in the National League on Saturday with a victory over the San Francisco Giants or a loss by the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs.

Although the NL postseason field is nearly set, the teams' respective seeding is still up in the air, with races between the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central as well as the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in NL West separated by just a single game apiece with two days remaining.

The NL East champion Atlanta Braves are also set to play October baseball, but they are fighting for home-field advantage in the Division Series.

Here's how the standings look heading into Saturday's action:

1. Cubs (94-66; NL Central leaders)

2. Rockies (90-70; NL West leaders)

3. Braves (90-70; NL East winners)

4. Brewers (93-67; No. 1 wild card)

5. Dodgers (89-71; No. 2 wild card)

6. Cardinals (87-73; first team out)

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said after Friday's win they don't want to rely on other teams' results to decide their playoff fate.

"We want to win our way into the postseason," Turner told reporters. "We don't want to rely on someone else losing to get us in. So—another big one tomorrow."

MLB's wild-card system makes these final few days crucial. The division winners advance directly to the NLDS, while the wild cards must face each other in a one-game elimination contest. So the Brewers could win 95 games and be ousted from championship contention because of one bad night.

Along with the Dodgers vs. Giants and Cardinals vs. Cubs, the other key series this weekend include the Rockies taking on the Washington Nationals, the Braves battling the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brewers hosting the Detroit Tigers.

Here's a prediction for how the NL playoffs will set up following the conclusion of the regular season and any necessary tiebreaker games:

1. Cubs

2. Braves

3. Dodgers

4. Brewers

5. Rockies

That would pit the Braves against the Dodgers in the NLDS, while the Cubs would own home-field advantage throughout the NL postseason and face the winner of the wild-card game between the Brewers and Rockies as they seek their second World Series title in the past three years.