A Magic Number in baseball parlance is the distance a team is from clinching a spot in the playoffs. Right now the Padres Magic Number is 10. When it reaches zero, they are in the postseason. How it drops to zero is both simple and, this year, a bit convoluted.

For the Padres, every victory they achieve or loss incurred by their rivals—specifically the Mets and Braves—brings this number down. Each win for the Padres or loss for these competitors will chip away at the Magic Number, creating a sense of urgency as the season concludes.

Yu Darvish goes six scoreless innings, Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar hit home runs and Padres increase lead in wild-card race; Luis Arraez appears OK after tweaking knee