Dodger Fans Savor the Moment

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Bob Martinez of Santa Paula kept glancing at his cellphone early this afternoon, checking to see how the Arizona Diamondbacks were faring against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Then, at 2:32 p.m. PDT, Arizona lost 12-3, enabling the Dodgers to clinch the NL West and reach post-season play. Martinez and his wife Frances then donned their Dodgers jerseys and headed to Chavez Ravine to enjoy a now-meaningless game against the Padres -- and to soak in the collected joy.

‘We’ve been waiting for this since ‘04,’ when the Dodgers last won the division, Martinez said while standing near the Stadium Club on the fifth-level concourse at Dodger Stadium before the game. ‘It’s pretty exciting.’

Nearby was Mark Kritzer of Thousand Oaks, a longtime Dodgers season ticketholder, who likewise said he kept checking the Internet to see what was happening in St. Louis. ‘Believe it or not, I was kind of rooting for the Diamondbacks, though, and maybe we could win it on the field [tonight], but that’s alright,’ he said.

At game time on a balmy night, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson threw out the ceremonial first pitch. And then all the Dodgers walked out on the field as the NL West champs, with the crowd roaring its approval.

If Arizona had won, the Dodgers planned to send Greg Maddux to the mound in hope of winning the division themselves. But with Arizona folding, Manager Joe Torre started Eric Stults -- and was expected to make several substitutions to rest his starters for the playoffs.

--Jim Peltz