SAN DIEGO -- Their weekend sweep of the White Sox complete, the Padres were finishing their handshake line on the infield grass, when, unprompted, the record-breaking Petco Park crowd broke out in unison:

¡°Beat L.A.¡±

Indeed, that¡¯s the objective now.

The Padres¡¯ postseason clinch party has been put on hold. They¡¯re fine with that. The Braves¡¯ victory in Miami meant that San Diego won¡¯t be able to secure its place in the postseason until Tuesday at the earliest.

But the Padres have turned their focus beyond merely getting in. With a 4-2 victory over Chicago on Sunday afternoon, they maintained full control of their postseason path ahead of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning Tuesday night.

Win one game, and the Padres will clinch a spot in the postseason. Win all three, and they¡¯ll sit atop the NL West with three to play.

¡°We¡¯ve put ourselves in a position to go and play for the division,¡± said Padres manager Mike Shildt. ¡°That¡¯s what this is all about, and that¡¯s what we¡¯ve been working toward.¡±

The Padres -- who secured their first 90-win season since 2010 -- remain three games back after the Dodgers walked off the Rockies on Sunday afternoon. But San Diego has locked up the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Realistically, it might require a sweep if the Padres are going to win their first division title in 18 years. But they own the sport¡¯s best record since the All-Star break and have won seven of 10 against L.A. this season.

¡°We¡¯ve got a really good team here, and we¡¯re going to continue doing what we¡¯ve been doing all year,¡± third baseman Manny Machado said. ¡°Nothing¡¯s going to change. Go out there, play some good baseball, finish out the year right.¡±

The Padres finished their home slate right -- winning five of six on the final homestand of the regular season. In the process, the team set a franchise attendance record with 3,314,593 in 80 games at Petco Park this season (not counting one game listed as a home game during the season-opening series in Seoul).

The finale on Sunday featured plenty of drama. But, ultimately, the Padres sent the White Sox to their 120th loss of the season, tying a modern Major League record. Trailing by a run in the eighth, Luis Arraez swatted a game-tying, pinch-hit double before Jurickson Profar¡¯s sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis Jr. added the exclamation point with a long home run.

¡°Fitting,¡± Shildt said of the come-from-behind victory. ¡°Grit squad showed up again.¡±

Right-hander Yu Darvish allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings in his longest start since he rejoined the team earlier this month. Darvish had spent three months on the IL and the restricted list. In four starts since his return, he has posted a 3.15 ERA.

¡°Body feels great,¡± Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. ¡°Good energy, good stamina -- feels good.¡±

With his third-inning strikeout of Luis Robert Jr., Darvish became the first Japanese-born pitcher to reach the 2,000-strikeout milestone.

¡°Just very grateful,¡± Darvish said.

¡°That¡¯s a heck of a milestone, man,¡± added Shildt. ¡°That¡¯s really impressive. It¡¯s a big number.¡±

The Padres will now line up Michael King, Dylan Cease and Joe Musgrove for their series in Los Angeles this week. Their simplest path to a postseason clinch is a win on Tuesday.

But the reality is this: That clinch celebration is coming at some point. With wins in eight of their past nine games, the Padres have built a serious cushion in the Wild Card race. On Sunday, they also gained a game on the Diamondbacks, who blew an eight-run lead in Milwaukee.

The Padres¡¯ cushion for the top Wild Card spot -- which comes with home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series -- is now three games. It¡¯s possible they could wrap that up even before they finish their season with three games in Arizona next weekend.

But, again, that isn¡¯t exactly the Padres¡¯ focus now. A division title is within reach.

¡°We put ourselves in that position as a team,¡± Tatis said. ¡°Now it's time to take control of the situation.¡±

And how do they go about doing that? By doing precisely what they¡¯ve done the entirety of the second half -- by keeping their focus on the present.

¡°Why change now?¡± Machado said. ¡°Why think ahead? Enjoy this today and get ready for a tough team and a tough series on Tuesday.¡±