For the first time in five seasons, the San Diego Padres are headed into September on top of the National League West. That means the Padres control their own destiny as they vie for a postseason birth. “Really, if we just go out there and win we don’t have to worry about (second-place) San Francisco. We don’t have to worry about Colorado, the Dodgers or Arizona,” said Padres closer Heath Bell, “because as long as we take care of business, we don’t have to worry about anybody else.” After a road-heavy August, 17 of the Padres’ 29 games in September are at home. They open the month with 14 straight divisional contests, including a 10-game homestand against the Rockies, Dodgers and Giants Sept. 3-12. “In September, we’re home a lot and we’d rather play people on our home turf than have to go on the road and play them,” Bell said. Last year, the Padres had a successful September under different circumstances. They came into the month last in the division and finished 17-9 to end the season in fourth place — 12 games under .500. “The only difference is, we know we’re playing for something,” Bell said. “Last year, we weren’t really playing for anything. We were just playing for pride. Now, we are just going and playing and we have the hopes and dreams of the postseason ahead of us.” In the 2005 season, the last time the Padres held a division lead headed into September, they were led by the likes of Phil Nevin, Mark Loretta, Brian Giles, Jake Peavy and Adam Eaton, and were favorites to advance to the postseason from a medicore division. This year, Bell feels critics still doubt the Padres, even though they’ve been on top of the division since late April. “We’ve been ahead all year long and nobody has given us the credit. Nobody has really believed in us except this locker room and the front office and the Padres organization,” Bell said. “I think we still feel like we’re the underdogs even though we’re in first.” Of their division opponents, the Padres have had the most success against the second-place Giants. Their 9-2 mark against the Northern California foes helps balance out losing records against both the Rockies (4-8) and Dodgers (5-7). “It’s funny because we have the Giants’ number,” Bell said. “The Dodgers kind of have our number, Arizona has got our number at their house. In our house, we have their number. It’s kind of weird how that works.” Similarly strange has been the Padres’ success in 2010 despite a lack of star power outside of Adrian Gonzalez. And trade deadline deals for veterans and former all-stars Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick haven’t appeared to upset the chemistry in the clubhouse. “There haven’t been many Major League Baseball teams that are true teams, and we’re definitely a team,” Bell said. “Individually, you might be able to beat us up. But as a group? No chance.” In the driver’s seat with the postseason on the horizon, a consistent September will bring playoff baseball back to San Diego. Thus far, consistency hasn’t been a problem — the Padres only have one losing streak of more than three games all season long. “Overall, we haven’t put a huge losing streak together and we’ve stayed consistent,” Bell said. “We may lose a game here or there, but we don’t lose a bunch of them. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been on top.” Padres upcoming home opponents Sept. 3-5 Rockies Sept. 6-8 Dodgers Sept. 9-12 Giants Sept. 24-26 Reds Sept. 27-30 Cubs PADRES PEPPER Padres fans to stand up to cancer during STANDiego During the Padres’ Sept. 9 game against the Giants, fans in section 133 will stand for the entire game and wear T-shirts in support of Stand Up To Cancer. The team has reserved 685 seats for STANDiego, which will be sold in four pricing levels ranging from $30 to $1,250. The Petco Park event precedes the annual Stand Up To Cancer national telecast on Sept. 10. Stand Up To Cancer raises funds to accelerate research for new therapies for cancer patients, and the Padres aim to raise $500,000 during the event. Petco Park to host Oktoberfest Sept. 24 The Padres will hold their Oktoberfest celebration at Petco Park on Sept. 24 beginning at 4 p.m. Admission to the fest is free with a paid ticket to the Friars’ game that evening against the Cincinnati Reds. More than 25 breweries are expected to take part in the event.