MIKE SCIOSCIA and the Angels still have a prayer of making the playoffs, but will have to have a hot August and September Wednesday. They won 3-2 on Wednesday to sweep the Padres in San Diego (Flickr/Bart Hanlon).

With the 2018 season more than half-gone, do the Los Angeles Angels have any prospect remaining for a playoff berth?

After Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres, the Halos’ third straight win, the answer is this: yes, but unlikely.

The victory improved the team’s record to 62-60. That puts the team in fourth place in the American League West, 12.5 games out of first, and 10.2 games back in the AL wild card race.

That’s a tough task, to catch the streaking Oakland A’s, but it’s not impossible. Oakland started off slowly, languished in last place for a while before catching fire, so …

Back in the world of what actually happened, the Angels got the winning run on a ninth-inning homer by catcher Rene Rivera, who just got back from the disabled list.

“It feels great,” Rivera said. “It’s awesome to come back after three months and help the team to win a game. It feels awesome. I’m glad to be back and have the opportunity to play.”

The Angels got a strong pitching performance from Felix Pena, who worked six two-hit innings, giving up one run while striking out seven batters and walking four. The win went to Jose Alvarez (5-3), who pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Having swept the Padres in San Diego, the Angels have another chance to get fat on a slow-moving target. They’ll be in Arlington for four games against the Texas Rangers (53-69), the last place team in the AL West. Taylor Cole (0-2) will start for the Halos, with Ariel Jurado  (2-2) starting for the home team on Thursday.

ALSO, the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 12-inning win over the San Francisco Giants in L.A. Brian Dozier drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly. The team is now 65-57 and in third place in the National League West, 1.5 games out of first.