With 8 games to go, the NL wild-card race is a 3-way tie between the Cubs, Phillies and Padres

With the MLB regular season set to end next Sunday, the NL playoff race has settled, in some ways at least.

The division winners are all clear. The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched their respective crowns, and the Atlanta Braves could join them as soon as Sunday.

The NL playoff field overall is also looking complete , as the only team still trying to make up a gap is the Arizona Diamondbacks , who are now 4.5 games out and need a miracle to close the distance.

That doesn't mean there isn't some chaos, though.

All you have to do is look at the three teams at the top of the wild-card standings. With Friday's games complete, the Chicago Cubs , Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres all have the same record: 85-69.

With eight games to go, one of those three teams will get to host a wild-card series. The other two will go on the road, one against the top wild-card team and the other against the division winner with the third-best record (currently the Braves).

In case you need, here's a quick guide of all the tiebreakers between these two teams:

And here are the remaining opponents on each team's schedule:

Phillies : @ Mets , vs. Brewers, vs. Rays

Padres : vs. Marlins, @ Dodgers, vs. D-Backs

This would all be more dramatic if a playoff spot were on the line, but alas, all three teams are in line to make the postseason.

Among that group, it's the Padres who have made the charge into the upper level of the wild-card race. They were 5.5 games back of the Cubs and five behind the Phillies this time two weeks ago, but they've won 11 of their past 12 games to challenge the pair and all but eliminate the Diamondbacks.

Friday was another successful day for the Padres, as San Diego defeated the Marlins 8-2 while the Cubs, Phillies and D-backs all lost.