Before regular season’s end next Sunday, the Padres would love to take these three steps:

Foremost, earn a playoff berth as soon as possible.

Then if circumstances allow, seize homefield advantage yet also find rest for select pitchers and regulars.

Let’s assume the Padres guarantee no worse than the sixth and final playoff seed by burying the Diamondbacks, who went into Friday four games behind with nine games to go.

Keep an eye on the other two likely first-round qualifiers: the Phillies and Cubs.

If the Padres finish ahead of them, too, they’d snag the fourth seed that brings homefield for the whole best-of-three wild-card playoff series.

Seems like a plum worth trying to pluck.

Serving up his own fruit metaphor, Craig Stammen provided context on two key items — the No. 4 seed and finding rest for select Padres players —  before his team’s game Friday.

“Number one goal, we’ve got get in,”  the manager said.

“And then, anything after that, it’s the cherry on top.”

Friday, the baseball gods cooperated.

The Cubs lost to the lowly Reds. The Phillies lost to the subpar Mets.

So the Padres, going into their own game, stood just half a game behind each team.

Key reminder: because the Padres lost the season series to both the Cubs and Phillies, they’ll have to finish ahead of each one to claim the fourth seed.

The Phillies’ schedule next week appears rugged —series against the NL-leading Brewers and the AL-leading Rays.

The Cubs will close against the Marlins and the Red Sox, while the Padres draw the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.

So even with the tiebreaker disadvantage, the Padres have a not unrealistic chance of booking Petco Park for a first-round series, Sept 29-30 and Oct. 1, rather than facing the likely No. 3-seeded Braves in Atlanta or going to Philadelphia or Chicago.

“We love playing at home,” said Stammen, whose team holds a 46-29 home record. “Our fans are great here.

“It’s always nice to get out of places like Colorado, where the (mile-high) atmosphere is a little bit different. Good to leave San Francisco, where it’s a little cold and windy. It’s great to come back to San Diego and play in this weather, where we feel very comfortable and where we know we’re a tough out for the opposing team.”

The Phillies aren’t having a great season at home, going 41-34.

I regard the intensity of Phillies home crowd and the quirkiness of their ballpark as giving Philadelphia more of a homefield advantage than most playoff teams get.

The 2022 Padres lost all three of their playoff games in Philadelphia, ending a National League Championship Series that otherwise would’ve returned to the East Village for Game 6.

Did those Phillies indeed benefit from the home environment?

“Yeah, I think they did,” Stammen answered with a laugh, while also crediting the Phillies’ performance.

“That was as tough of an environment as I’ve been a part of, outside like a college football game on the road. They have a definite advantage in their home field, for sure. Philadelphia is pretty raucous. They play well in their ballpark also.”

The Padres have noisy fans, too.

“We have a great homefield advantage here, it’s an awesome environment,” Stammen said. “The Philadelphia fans are known for their, ah, a little bit more aggressive attitude.”

He quickly added: “I don’t think our fans need to be more aggressive,. They’re good the way they are.”

Fatigue will be considered as well as seeding context.

The Padres have no open dates after Monday, finishing with six games in six days.

Ace Michael King and relief star Adrian Morejón sit fifth and third in innings pitched by all MLB starters and relievers, respectively. Both have logged personal highs this season in innings pitched and pitches. Rookie reliever Bradgley Rodriguez, who has a low ERA and a high strikeout rate, has set a new career mark for innings and pitches as a professional. Uber-closer Mason Miller is close to his career-high for innings.

Bob Melvin holding Yu Darvish out of a start late in the 2022 season, when the Padres were on the verge of clinching a playoff berth, seemed to work out when Darvish followed with a fine postseason.

So in the final week-plus, Stammen’s first season as a manager will serve up numerous variables to consider — starting, of course, with securing a playoff spot.

“It’s fun, trying to figure it out,” he said.

And it beats playing out the string.