The NL Wild Card picture is much more complex than that of the American League. Here we have many possibilities, and we probably won’t know how it all shakes out until the last day of the season. However, we can make some educated guesses as to who’s most likely to be atop the standings when the dust settles.

There are several teams who could be on top by season’s end: San Francisco, Atlanta, Colorado, Philadelphia or San Diego.

The Padres, once cruising atop the NL West by seven games, have fallen to a mere one game lead over the Giants. While the Padres may continue to fall, most everyone expects they’ll eventually scare themselves straight and start playing the kind of baseball they’ve been playing all year. If not, they’ll be in jeopardy of going from having the best record in the majors to hitting the golf course come October 4.

If they falter, either the Rockies or, more likely, the Giants, could sweep into first place, which would cause San Diego to be fighting with either the Braves or the Phillys and the Rockies for the NL Wild Card. With little late-season burst, St. Louis could get in on the act as well, though their play in the second half has been sub-par to this point. They could do a lot to change things with a good showing against Atlanta this weekend. This is a crucial four-game series that could either put St. Louis down for good or send them surging toward a Wild Card or even a pennant.

San Diego, meanwhile, will have to hold off the Giants this weekend to avoid finding themselves looking up in both the Wild Card and divisional standings. Throughout the National League, the next week will go a long way toward deciding the fate of the top contenders.

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