Giants Clinch West Title

The San Francisco Giants have been the best in the West since March 31 -- and now they’re headed for October.

Jason Schmidt had 11 strikeouts in his 16th win, and Andres Galarraga and Marquis Grissom each hit a two-run homer as the Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 8-3, Wednesday night to clinch the National League West title and their third playoff berth in four seasons.

By taking first place on opening day and never letting go, the defending NL champions became the ninth wire-to-wire winner of a division or pennant in baseball history. The last three -- Baltimore in 1997, Cleveland in 1998 and Seattle in 2001 -- failed to reach the World Series, however.

Wednesday’s win, coupled with Arizona’s 2-0 win over the Dodgers, gave the Giants a 13-game lead with 12 games to play.

The Giants have been ahead by at least 8 1/2 games since mid-July, and it was a mellow celebration.

After the final out, the Giants slapped high-fives as they normally would after a victory. The team then displayed the ninth inning of the Dodger game on the outfield video board, and the crowd began chanting “Beat L.A.!”

Most of the players leaned on the dugout railing and watched the final outs of the Dodger game. When it ended, the Giants thrust their hands in the air and joined in a huge group hug near the dugout steps.

After a rocky beginning, Schmidt (16-5) shackled the Padres while getting his career-best 200th strikeout of the season. The San Francisco ace gave up seven hits over seven innings in his fourth straight victory. He is the first San Francisco pitcher to have 200 strikeouts in a season since John Montefusco had 215 in 1975.

The Giants have lost only seven of their 34 home games since the All-Star break.

Mark Loretta homered for the Padres, who blew an early three-run lead while losing their sixth straight.