As the Arizona Diamondbacks got settled in San Diego on Sept. 25, they knew where they stood in the National League wild-card race.

Their 8-0 loss to the Dodgers earlier that day, coupled with wins for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets, left the Diamondbacks (80-79) two games behind the Mets for the last wild-card spot, and one behind the Reds.

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It’s not the ideal spot to be in for the Diamondbacks, who were one run away from a win and a tie for the wild card on Sept. 24. But they lost that night in extra innings to the Dodgers, and lost the following day, putting their postseason hopes in serious jeopardy.

But who could have imagined the Diamondbacks — 51-59 and 11 games behind the Mets on Aug. 1 — would still be mathematically alive for the postseason heading into the last series of the regular season?

The quest was set to begin Friday night.

To be clear, it’s a long shot. The Diamondbacks can make the playoffs if they sweep the Padres and if the Mets go 1-2 or worse at Miami and Cincinnati goes 1-2 or worse at Milwaukee.

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They also would play in the postseason if they win two of three in San Diego and the Reds and Mets are both swept in their three-game series.

“Obviously, we’re still playing meaningful baseball,” Diamondbacks infielder Blaze Alexander said after the team’s loss to the Dodgers. “Our expectation is to go in (to San Diego) and win every game. It’s not a new mindset. That’s what we’ve been thinking for weeks: win every game.

“We’re going to give San Diego hell, going to give them our best.”

The Padres were eliminated from the NL West title race when the Dodgers clinched the division at Chase Field on Sept. 25. San Diego can still earn home-field advantage in their upcoming NL wild-card series against the Chicago Cubs, who hold that advantage going into the weekend.

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Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo echoed the mindset.

“Everybody here is aware of what’s going on,” he said. “We’ve just got to go and win some games. That’s the last three games of the season, and we have to give everything we have in the tank.”

Manager Torey Lovullo said the Diamondbacks “backed themselves into a corner” and must find a way to get out of it.

“The Padres are a good team. We’ve got to sweep them. We do,” Lovullo said.

“I don’t want to sound desperate, start to act desperate, because I think the players pick up on that. I want to believe in them. But they know that it’s a razor-thin margin. We’ve got to make sure that we’re on top of things quickly, for sure.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks need wins and help to pass the Mets and Reds