That was 44-year-old David Wells, in what might have been his career swan song Friday night, pitching the Dodgers to a meaningless 8-3 win over the Giants. Wells also singled in a run and scored another.

After allowing three runs (two earned) over six innings and raising his Dodgers record to 4-1, he sort of gave a retirement speech, and sort of didn't when asked if this was it after 21 seasons.

"It could be, you never know," he said. "Hopefully, I'll entertain offers, if there are any. I told Ned [Colletti, the Dodgers general manager] earlier today, I wouldn't mind coming back here. I gave him my number and told him to give me a call if he wants. But I won't be disappointed if I don't play.

"It was nice to go out with a win. I had a pretty good outing, It showed I still got a little life left in the tank. I've got four months to hang out and ponder it. I hope I do come back. If not, I'll enjoy hunting and surfing and hanging out with the kids."

Speaking of kids, they were playing behind Wells and they played very well. Seven Dodgers drove in runs, two by Wilson Valdez and one on James Loney's 15th home run, giving him 32 RBIs for the month, most in the Major Leagues and the fourth-highest September total in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

Further representing the veterans, former Giant Mark Sweeney's seventh-inning single was his 24th pinch-hit of the year, which leads the Major Leagues and is the second-most in the last decade. Defensively, the Dodgers turned four double plays in a game that had no sign of the injured Barry Bonds (toe) but did include a combined 11 starters that had spent some time this year in Triple-A.

By contrast, the last time Wells pitched in Triple-A other than a rehab assignment was 1988. He was jettisoned by the Padres in August and went three weeks without a call, believing he was retired, when the Dodgers hired him to replace Brett Tomko. Once bitter over the San Diego rejection, he admits he's a Padres fan again now that the Dodgers are eliminated and San Diego is still alive.

"I'm pulling for them now," he said. "For a while, I wanted to show they made a mistake. But you've got to let that go and move on and cut the cord on that. There's stuff at stake."

Wells said there was a momentary emotional tug when manager Grady Little said he would not be sent back to the mound for the seventh inning, but not as strong as he experienced last year when his Padres were eliminated from the playoffs in St. Louis.

"Trevor Hoffman was right there with me and he said I should be proud of my accomplishments and what I meant to the game," he said. "Today, I had fire in my eyes. I wanted to stay in. I was talking with Russell [Martin] and he said, 'You're not retiring.' It dawned on me that if nothing happens, this might be the last time."

The victory was No. 239 for Wells, tying him with Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown for 53rd on the all-time wins list. He finished the season 9-9.

"He did what we expected him to do and what we needed him to do," Little said of Wells. "He's an amazing human being. Anything he does wouldn't surprise me."

The Dodgers, meanwhile, need to split the final two games to finish the season with a winning record. The victory was only their second in the last 12 games.

"It was a good game and we're glad to get it and it [guarantees] us with .500 this year and that's something we've got to live with," said Little.