NL WEST Giants clinch division title against Padres

The 8-3 win, coupled with Los Angeles' 2-0 loss to Arizona, ended the race.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants overcame many obstacles in their season-long roll to the playoffs.
Through it all, from the deaths of family members to a series of injuries, they never fell out of first place in the NL West.
Jason Schmidt had 11 strikeouts in his 16th win, and Andres Galarraga and Marquis Grissom hit two-run homers as the Giants beat San Diego 8-3 Wednesday night to wrap up the division title and their third playoff appearance in four seasons.
Insurmountable 13-game lead
The Giants' win, coupled with Los Angeles' 2-0 loss to Arizona, gave San Francisco an insurmountable 13-game lead with less than two weeks to play. The Giants watched the final outs of Los Angeles' loss on the video board in center field.
"This is exhilarating," Schmidt said. "Even though we've gone through this before, everyone here deserves to celebrate and deserves to have a good time tonight. We know the real work starts in October, though."
After the final out, the players slapped high-fives as they normally would following a victory. As they gathered at the dugout railing to watch the Dodgers' game, the crowd began chanting, "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!"
When it ended, the Giants thrust their hands in the air and joined in a huge group hug near the dugout steps.
Earliest playoff clinch
In the clubhouse, players doused each other with champagne and beer to celebrate the earliest playoff clinch in franchise history. The festivities became increasingly raucous, with several players apparently competing to douse everyone giving postgame interviews.
"We knew we were going to be pretty good, but to do what we did is amazing," general manager Brian Sabean said after getting a champagne soaking. "We've proved to baseball we know what we're doing, and we've overcome a huge number of obstacles along the way. This is the sweet part, but we'll go right back to work."
By taking first place on opening day and never letting go, the defending NL champions became just the ninth wire-to-wire winner of a division or pennant in baseball history. But the Giants' run was even more impressive for its degree of difficulty.
Bonds' father and Schmidt's mother died during the season, casting a melancholy feeling over their achievements. Manager Felipe Alou has used a patchwork rotation and an ever-changing lineup because of injuries to nearly every key player.
"I'm happy that we get another shot at going all the way," said Bonds. "I'm not surprised that we're here. We won because we have a good team, but there's still more games to win to get where we want to go."
Schmidt mows down Padres
After a rocky beginning, Schmidt (16-5) mowed down the Padres while getting his career-best 200th strikeout of the season. The San Francisco ace allowed seven hits over seven innings in his fourth straight victory.
"For a couple of innings out there, I was pretty shaky," Schmidt said "But the guys on the bench told me, 'Just settle down. We're going to get you a lot of runs tonight.' "