By Jeff Wendt
Mail

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost 8-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, hurting their chances to earn the final National League Wild Card.

The D-Backs entered Thursday's game against the Dodgers tied with the Cincinnati Reds, who are both one game back of the New York Mets for the final wild card spot in the National League.

The Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Thursday to get within a half-game of the Mets, who played later Thursday at the Chicago Cubs.

The D-Backs, with the loss, fell to 1.5 games behind the Mets.

Here are the possible scenarios for the Diamondbacks with four games remaining to reach the playoffs:

• The D-Backs pass the Mets and  hold a better record than the  Mets at the end of the season.
• The D-Backs tie the Mets for the final wild card spot. The D-backs split their season series with the Mets but would be guaranteed to finish the season with a better division record (the next tiebreaker) than the Mets if the two teams end up tied for a Wild Card spot.
• If the D-Backs are tied with the Reds, the Reds claim the final wild card spot due to Cincinnati winning the regular season series.
• If the D-Backs, Mets and Reds tie for the final wild card spot, the Reds own important tiebreakers against the D-backs and Mets, should they end the season with the same record as one of those clubs for a Wild Card spot.

The D-Backs close at San Diego for the final three games of the season Friday through Sunday. The Mets close with three games at the Miami Marlins, and the Reds close with three games at the Milwaukee Brewers.