LOS ANGELES — Two big swings edged the Los Angeles Dodgers closer to claiming the NL West title and gave them greater control over making the postseason.

Nomar Garciaparra and Blake DeWitt each hit three-run homers and the Dodgers reduced their magic number to three with a 10-1 victory last night.

"Three is our number," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We want to win the next three games and put this thing to sleep. We're confident, but not comfortable."

After a 1-0, 11-inning loss to San Francisco on Sunday, the Dodgers sure looked loose, piling up six runs in the first and eventually scoring at least 10 runs for the 10th time this season.

"Our challenge is to go out and make it very tough on the Dodgers. Our guys realize what's at stake in our division," Padres manager Bud Black said. "The Dodgers have a lot to play for. We're going to end up playing them nine times in a short period of time, and they know that we're going to come at them the next two nights."

Manny Ramirez added a two-run double, making him the second player in major league history to record at least 50 RBIs in each league during the same season.

The Dodgers' victory, combined with Arizona's 7-4 loss at St. Louis, drew them closer to their first division title since 2004 and first under new manager Torre. They lead the Diamondbacks by three games with five to play.

"You always want to get down to where it's in your hands and that's where we are," Garciaparra said. "It would be nice to wrap it up here. Our goal is to try to win somewhere."

Chad Billingsley (16-10) allowed one run and nine hits in six innings, struck out five and walked two for his fourth win in his last five starts.

METS 6, CUBS 2: Johan Santana (15-7) allowed two runs and seven hits with 10 strikeouts in eight innings, and Jose Reyes had a three-run triple for his 200th hit of the season, leading host New York over Chicago to move within 1 1/2 games of NL East-leading Philadelphia, while remaining one game in front of Milwaukee in the wild-card race.

Braves 3, Phillies 2: Casey Kotchman homered and Mike Hampton (3-3) gave up two runs and six hits over six innings as visiting Atlanta held off Philadelphia, whose magic number for clinching the NL East remained at four.

Brewers 7, Pirates 5: Prince Fielder homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off reliever T.J. Beam (2-2) to help Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh and remain one game behind New York in the NL wild-card race with five games left in the regular season.

Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 4: Ryan Ludwick hit a three-run homer in the first in support of Kyle Lohse (15-6), who allowed homers to Chris Young and Miguel Montero, as host St. Louis hung on to beat Arizona, which was eliminated from postseason contention.

Reds 2, Astros 1: Edinson Volquez (17-6) gave up a run and six hits over 7 1/3 innings and Cincinnati scored two unearned runs to push host Houston to the brink of playoff elimination. A loss and a Mets win today would eliminate the Astros from the playoffs.

Nationals 9, Marlins 4: Alberto Gonzalez went 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs, helping host Washington end a five-game losing streak and mathematically eliminate Florida from the wild-card race.

Rockies 9, Giants 4: Seth Smith had three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs as visiting Colorado roughed up Tim Lincecum (17-5) for six runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings to beat San Francisco.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RAYS SWEEP ORIOLES: Tampa Bay reduced its magic number to win the AL East to two with a franchise first: a 5-2 and 7-5 doubleheader sweep of host Baltimore.

The sweep, combined with Boston's victory over Cleveland, left the Rays three games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East in pursuit of their first division title.

Twins 9, White Sox 3: Jason Kubel went 3 for 4 with two homers, including going back-to-back with Delmon Young in the seventh to put the game out of reach, as host Minnesota moved within 1 1/2 games of Chicago in the AL Central.

Chicago's Ken Griffey Jr. passed Sammy Sosa for sole possession of fifth place on the career list with his 610th home run, a two-run shot off Matt Guerrier in the ninth.

Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1: Mike Mussina (19-6) pitched five shutout innings for his 269th career victory and Jason Giambi homered, but it was too late for visiting New York, which will miss the postseason for the first time since starting its run in 1995.

Royals 5, Tigers 0: Zack Greinke (13-10) allowed four hits in seven innings, Leo Nunez retired six straight in the eighth and ninth, and Mike Aviles, Ryan Shealy and Alex Gordon homered to lift visiting Kansas City, which moved out of last place in the AL Central by passing Detroit.

Rangers 6, Athletics 4: Hank Blalock hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to cap a three-run bottom of the seventh as Texas snapped its five-game slide and ended Oakland's four-game winning streak.

Mariners 9, Angels 6: Kenji Johjima had a two-run double in a four-run bottom of the sixth and a run-scoring single in the seventh, helping Seattle rally from a 6-2 deficit to beat Los Angeles, which has 97 wins and is two short of the franchise record set by the 2002 team that won the World Series.