Oh, what a difference two swings made for these Los Angeles Dodgers.

Before Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the Colorado Rockies and salvage a series victory on Sunday, the Dodgers were staring at a two-game lead in the NL West (their smallest since August 17). ) with three of their last six games coming against the second-place San Diego Padres.

The increasingly tight situation was enough to arouse thoughts of impending disaster.

But after Ohtani and Betts connected on two of the most consistent swings of the season, the Dodgers had a three-game lead ahead of the Padres’ three-game trip to Dodger Stadium. They’re poised to take the division outright with a series win, and FanGraphs’ odds of Los Angeles taking the NL West are at 90.8 percent. The Dodgers have a half-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for the top seed in the National League.

Mookie Betts’ walk-off home against the Rockies set the stage for a dramatic final week of the regular season. (John McCoy/Getty Images)

The Dodgers’ magic number is four. A champagne party is looming. They still largely control their own destiny before October, although a lot can change in the final week of the season. That goes for the No. 1 seed. The Phillies retain the tiebreaker over the Dodgers after winning the season series, meaning the Dodgers would have to take the top record outright to secure home field advantage over the NL side of the bracket.

The Dodgers still hold a commanding four-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers, who close out the season with their final two series at the Pittsburgh Pirates and at home against the playoff-chasing New York Mets. As long as the Dodgers win the division, a first-round bye remains somewhat safe (and as necessary as ever, given how many pitching question marks they have).

In the division, the Padres also hold the tiebreaker and technically still control their destiny when it comes to interrupting the Dodgers’ streak of 10 division titles over the past 11 seasons. San Diego will claim the NL West if it wins its six games against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks on the road.

Who the Dodgers will face in the playoffs remains in flux. The playoff field is about to begin with the Dodgers, Phillies and Brewers officially in the dance (and the Padres about to join them). The Diamondbacks, Mets and Braves are competing for the last two spots, with some variation in placement still possible.

The scenarios for the Dodgers range from starting on the road in a best-of-three wild-card series to facing the No. 3-6 or No. 4-5 winners as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in October .

So yes, this week will be worth watching, including perhaps the most watched Dodgers series at Coors Field in years to close out the season.

The pitching seems to be largely set

Despite the patchwork of the past month, the Dodgers’ pitching plans for the postseason appear simple.

Jack Flaherty has been a stabilizing force. Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled with his command on Sunday and has yet to complete more than four innings since returning from the injured list. Still, he will inevitably play a major role in the Dodgers’ plans. Walker Buehler has continued to produce uneven results, sometimes within the same outing, but the organization has made it clear that it is banking on his October pedigree. It’s hard to argue against Landon Knack at this point; As much as the Dodgers have kept him on a tight leash this season (he’s faced just 20 total hitters for the third time in the order), he’s been as consistently effective as anyone.

Where that could change is with potential reinforcements.

It’s unclear how close Clayton Kershaw is to meeting hitters during batting practice, let alone in games. He has thrown extensive bullpen sessions to keep his arm moving, and has added several insoles and removed a stud from his left shoe to take pressure off his ailing left big toe. At some point, Dave Roberts said last week, the Dodgers will have to try it out and see if he can pitch for them.

Then there’s Tony Gonsolin, who has yet to pitch this season but has gone from long shot to contributing as a reliever to someone who was able to accrue enough innings during his minor league rehab to get off to a decent start. There’s a chance Gonsolin’s next appearance could be in the major leagues, making him one of only four pitchers in Jon Roegele’s public database to return from Tommy John surgery in 12 months or less (Gonsolin was diagnosed last year operated on September 1).

Shohei Ohtani remains red hot

“I honestly haven’t seen a player as locked in as Shohei in a long time, as long as he has been,” Roberts told reporters over the weekend.

It’s possible no one has ever done that. As True Blue LA’s Eric Stephen noted Sunday afternoon, no player in Major League history has ever gone seven games with six or more home runs and seven or more stolen bases… until Ohtani, the easy choice for NL Player or the Week honor.

Ohtani’s recent dominance has once again put his season in a unique perspective. Among players with at least 50 stolen bases in a season, Ohtani’s 1.023 OPS now ranks as the highest since George Sisler in 1922.

Third base coach Dino Ebel joked that a 55-55 run next year would be the goal after Ohtani’s stellar season this year, but reaching that point this year remains eminently possible — he has 53 home runs and 55 steals bases after Sunday, his 15th. game this season with at least one stolen base and one home run (a Major League record).

Four of those games have come in September and 11 since the All-Star break.

It’s a torrid stretch that Ohtani suggested was close last week when it was on the edge of 50-50. He said: “I’m actually just one little thing away from feeling good.”

It’s safe to say he’s feeling good. If he can keep that up over the next few weeks, Ohtani could make as much of a profit on the Dodgers’ October fortunes as anyone.

(Photo by Shohei Ohtani: John McCoy/Getty Images)