CHICAGO — The Padres took one more step toward the inevitable and one more step toward having to make some decisions.

Their tiptoed march to the postseason continued on Saturday with a 7-3 victory over the White Sox.

It was the Padres’ second victory in five games on the season’s final road trip, which ends Sunday.

They will return home having yet to clinch a playoff berth, because the Reds won Saturday.

The Padres’ magic number is down to one against the Diamondbacks and three against the Reds. That means they need a victory or a Diamondbacks loss to ensure Arizona cannot pass them and some combination of victories and Reds losses adding up to three to ensure the Reds cannot pass them.

The Padres made it possible to clinch Monday by winning for just the 10th time in their past 25 ga

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