These trades really paid off

The old man knew how to rise to the occasion.

David Wells saved his best of the season for when it was needed most, a dominating performance that has the San Diego Padres in the postseason for the second year in a row.

The 43-year-old lefthander threw six scoreless innings, not even allowing an Arizona runner to reach second base, and the Padres clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 victory over the host Diamondbacks yesterday. ``This is what I live for," said Wells, who was traded to San Diego by the Red Sox a month ago. ``This is what I've played for, the opportunity to pitch in a big game when it counted. There's nothing better."

Wells, who missed his previous start with gout in his right foot, allowed four hits, struck out three, and walked one in his 230th career win.

``I've been here plenty of times. I've failed and I have succeeded," said Wells, who expects to retire after the playoffs. ``I still had huge butterflies going out there today and it was even more emotional knowing that it was the last regular-season start of my career."

Mike Cameron's booming two-run homer was the difference as the Padres' win clinched consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history.

Dodgers 4, Giants 2 -- Greg Maddux pitched Los Angeles back into the playoffs, a key second-half piece on the club's remade roster.

Maddux (15-14) outdueled star rookie Matt Cain, hit a single, and even stole a base as the Dodgers won their sixth straight game, beating host San Francisco. The Dodgers acquired the 300-game winner from the Chicago Cubs at the trading deadline to give them a veteran arm for the stretch run -- and he won six games.

Cardinals 3, Brewers 2 -- Pinch hitter Scott Spiezio hit a bases-loaded triple with two outs in the eighth and host St. Louis cut their magic number for clinching the NL Central to 1, rallying past Milwaukee. The Cardinals won for only the third time in 11 games, putting them on the verge of their third straight division title.

Astros 5, Braves 4 -- Pinch hitter Orlando Palmeiro's single drove in the tiebreaking run as visiting Houston scored three times in the ninth inning, then held on to beat Atlanta and preserve their playoff hopes.

Andy Pettitte, moved up one day in the rotation, allowed only four hits in seven innings. He left with a 2-1 lead, but Adam LaRoche hit reliever Trever Miller's first pitch in the eighth inning for a game-tying home run to right field.

If Houston wins and St. Louis loses today, the Cardinals would be forced to play a makeup game against San Francisco tomorrow. A St. Louis loss in that game would force a playoff game in Houston for the division title.

Phillies 4, Marlins 3 -- Ryan Howard's RBI single put Philadelphia ahead to stay in the third inning and five relievers combined to shut out host Florida over the final 7 1/3 innings as the Phillies averted elimination from the NL wild-card race for about an hour. But subsequent victories by the Dodgers and Padres quashed the Phillies' hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time since 1993.

Royals 9, Tigers 6 -- David DeJesus hit a two-run triple in visiting Kansas City's seven-run first inning as Detroit remained tied with Minnesota atop the AL Central.

White Sox 6, Twins 3 -- Jon Garland (18-7) took a shutout into the ninth inning and Tadahito Iguchi had three RBIs, leading visiting Chicago past Minnesota.

Pirates 3, Reds 0 -- Journeyman Marty McLeary, 32, pitched seven shutout innings in his second major league start as Pittsburgh beat visiting Cincinnati, which was mathematically eliminated from the NL Central race earlier in the day.

Angels 7, Athletics 6 -- Chone Figgins hit a two-run single in the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez set a club record with his major league-leading 47th save as Los Angeles beat visiting Oakland.

Indians 6, Devil Rays 1 -- Jake Westbrook (15-10) allowed one run in seven innings and Casey Blake hit two solo homers to help host Cleveland hand Tampa Bay its 100th loss.

Mets 13, Nationals 0 -- Julio Franco, 48, tied a career high with five RBIs, helping Tom Glavine (15-7) earn his 290th career win for New York in Washington.

Rockies 11, Cubs 9 -- Jeff Baker singled in two runs with two out in the 14th inning as visiting Colorado beat Chicago.

Blue Jays 6, Yankees 5 -- Alex Rios hit a go-ahead, two-run triple as visiting Toronto rallied in the seventh inning.

Mariners 3, Rangers 1 -- Adrian Beltre homered twice as host Seattle beat Texas.