Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

The prize the Dodgers want is on the other side of a finish line drawing closer by the day.

They appeared to be speeding toward it Sunday after a 7-4 victory against the San Francisco Giants that gave them a 2 1/2 -game lead in the National League West with a week remaining in the regular season.

The Dodgers took a major step toward winning the division title and delivered another blow to their longtime rival’s playoff hopes in front of a sellout crowd of 42,549 at SBC Park.

“This series lived up to its expectations and this is obviously a tremendous game for us to win,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “Considering the circumstances, the amount of time left in the season and the road trip in general ... just tremendous.”

Jayson Werth and Alex Cora hit timely home runs (Nos. 16 and 10, respectively), Jeff Weaver (13-12) overcame a shaky beginning in a six-inning quality start and the Dodgers capitalized on three San Francisco errors. And then there was Eric Gagne.

With a playoff berth tantalizingly close, Tracy summoned the All-Star closer for a two-inning appearance for the third time on the trip and second time in four days. Gagne worked a perfect eighth and quickly got two outs in the ninth before Barry Bonds came to the plate.

Bonds, who hit his 45th home run -- and 703rd in his career -- in the third, had an infield single to prolong the game.

Gagne then walked J.T. Snow in a nine-pitch at-bat, though the Dodgers angrily disagreed that Snow had checked his swing on ball four, which was the ruling of third-base umpire Doug Eddings.

Deivi Cruz, who had three hits, represented the potential tying run, but Gagne struck him out on an 89-mph changeup to nail down his 45th save in 47 opportunities and end the 3-hour 39-minute game.

“We’ve been close for three years and now we’re in front,” Gagne said. “It’s really nice to be in that situation.”

The Dodgers (89-66) took two of three in the series against the Giants (87-69). With seven games to play, the Dodgers’ magic number is five to win their first division title in nine years.

They arrived in San Francisco with a 1 1/2 -game lead and departed with a little more breathing room.

“All three games could have gone either way but we won the series,” said Shawn Green, who walked four times, matching a career high.

“It’s right in front of us now. We just need to have a solid week the last week of the season and it’s ours. It’s pretty cut and dried now.”

And for the Giants as well.

They squandered a chance to move back into the lead in the NL wild-card race, remaining a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs.

“We’re still in both races,” said Giant starter Brett Tomko (11-7). “We need a little help in the division and in the wild card, and we’ve got to win some games on top of that. We need some help both ways.”

The Dodgers said the Giants shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for them.

“It’s always been ours to grab,” Milton Bradley said of the division title. “We were never going to let it go despite all of the things that went on.

“No matter the injuries, the trades, guys not playing well or whatever. When are we finally going to get someone to say these guys are good? When are we finally going to get someone to say these guys deserve it?”

The Dodgers went 5-4 on a nine-game trip against the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Giants. They maintained the 2 1/2 -game lead they had when they departed Los Angeles and now the calendar is working against the Giants.

“Our guys have shown a lot of character,” said Dodger General Manager Paul DePodesta, who accompanied the team for the last two series of its final trip.

“We went out on the road trip and didn’t play particularly well in Colorado despite winning two out of three. Then we got to San Diego and lost a couple of games. It got to a point where we either needed to turn it around and turn it on or it was going to slip away from us.

“Our guys deserve a lot of credit for the way they’ve been able to turn it on.”