Dodgers win West

The Dodgers clinched their first N.L. West championship in four years Thursday without lifting a bat.

Entering the day with a magic number of one, the Dodgers got what they needed when the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks lost 12-3 at St. Louis in the afternoon.

That was several hours before Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez homered and Luis Rodriguez had four hits to lead San Diego to a meaningless 7-5 victory over the Dodgers in their final home game of the regular season.

“It’s fine with me we don’t have to do it on the field,” first-year Dodgers manager Joe Torre said before the game.

“I’m just happy we did it. I’m very proud of this team. Going to the playoffs never gets old.”

The Dodgers saved their celebration for after the game.

Torre guided the New York Yankees to four World Series titles and 12 playoff appearances in as many years before leaving the team last fall.

He was then hired by the Dodgers, signing a three-year, $13 million contract.

Torre said he received a text message of congratulations from Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin. “He’s a class act,” Torre said, adding that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called as well to offer his best wishes.

Torre gave credit to his players for winning the division.

“Anytime a manager thinks that he’s responsible for something that players do, he’s a little deluded,” the 68-year-old skipper said. “I just try to get everybody thinking and going in the same direction and being on the same page. That’s my job, trying to put out fires here and there. My job is to keep people focused.

“I never envisioned myself at 67, 68 years old going somewhere new to start over – and I’m glad I did it.”

“I’m relieved and ecstatic at the same time,” general manager Ned Colletti said. “I’m proud of the team, proud of what they’ve gone through this year and how they came together the last four or five weeks. They fought through a lot of adversity.”

Other N.L. highlights

Mets 7, Cubs 6: At New York, Carlos Beltran singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Mets rallied past Chicago for a huge win that halted their late-season slide.

New York moved within one game of idle East-leading Philadelphia with three to play and remain tied with Milwaukee atop the wild-card standings.

Brewers 5, Pirates 1 (10): At Milwaukee, Ryan Braun delivered the game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning, and the Brewers finished a sweep of Pittsburgh.

Astros 8, Reds 6: At Houston, Roy Oswalt allowed two hits and struck out three in six innings to lead the Astros past the Reds, keeping Houston’s faint playoff hopes alive for one more day.

American League highlights

Red Sox 6, Indians 1: At Boston, Jon Lester flirted with a no-hitter in his final tuneup before the playoffs, finishing with six innings of two-hit ball and leading the Red Sox to a victory over Cleveland. Boston retained a mathematical chance of winning the East.

Tigers 7, Rays 5: At Detroit, Tampa Bay’s East title celebration was delayed by the Tigers. Scott Kazmir allowed four homers and the Rays lost to Detroit.

Having already secured no worse than a wild-card berth, Tampa Bay would have clinched the division with a victory.

Twins 7, White Sox 6 (10): At Minneapolis, Alexi Casilla’s 10th-inning single sent Minnesota past Chicago and into first place in the Central.

Dempster to start Cubs’ opener

The Chicago Cubs plan to open the playoffs with a former closer on the mound: Ryan Dempster.

The 17-game winner was tabbed by manager Lou Piniella to start Game 1 in the best-of-five division series at Wrigley Field. The N.L. Central champions will play the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies or Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round beginning Wednesday.

Dempster is 17-6 with a 2.99 ERA, including a 14-3 mark with a 2.86 ERA at home. If the series goes the distance, he would be in line to start Game 5 in Chicago as well.

Mets win flip against Astros

The New York Mets won a coin flip with the Houston Astros and would host a tiebreaker for the N.L. wild card next week if it’s needed to decide a postseason berth.

Under previous coin flips, the Mets, Philadelphia and Houston all would host Milwaukee.

Philadelphia would host the Mets in an N.L. East tiebreaker. The Chicago White Sox would host the Minnesota Twins if they finish with the same record in the A.L. Central.

Gaston gets 2-year extension

Cito Gaston signed a two-year contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays before their home finale against the New York Yankees.

General manager J.P. Ricciardi also got a vote of confidence, with team president Paul Godfrey confirming Ricciardi will be back in 2009.