Bobby Cox will get one more try in October. No tiebreaker needed.

What could’ve turned into a real tangle of a playoff picture became clear Sunday: Cox and his wild-card Atlanta Braves will face the San Francisco Giants, while the San Diego Padres are finished.

Major League Baseball was looking at the possibility of a three-team, two-day round of games to sort out all the postseason slots — fun for fans, a scramble for players. Instead, for the first time in four years, the regular season ended with Game No. 162.

The first round was set when Jonathan Sanchez and the Giants eliminated the Padres 3-0 to win the NL West. Philadelphia and Cincinnati will meet in the other NL division series.

“We nailed it,” Giants outfielder Pat Burrell said. “It was looking like it was heading the wrong way. Our guys toughed it out.”

Tampa Bay clinched the AL East when the World Series champion New York Yankees lost at Boston 8-4. That sent the Rays back home to open the playoffs against Texas, while the wild-card Yankees will start their best-of-five series at Minnesota.

The action begins Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field, followed by games at Citizens Bank Park and Target Field. The banged-up Braves visit Tim Lincecum and the Giants at AT&T Park on Thursday night.

“We’re probably not expected to do well,” said Braves ace Tim Hudson, wearing a T-shirt with “Wild Card” across the front.

No matter, Cox is in the postseason yet again. At 69, he’s retiring after this season. And his Braves went 4-3 against the Giants this year.

Cox guided Atlanta to 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005, but only one World Series championship during that run. He and the Braves are back in the postseason after a four-year absence.

The Giants’ win simplified the playoff scenario. Had they lost, San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta would’ve all finished at 91-71, forcing a pair of tiebreakers. The Giants make their first postseason appearance since 2003, when the team was built around Barry Bonds.

“Versus the past when we lived and died with one superstar player, there aren’t any superstars on this team. There might be a couple rising stars,” Giants general manager Brian Sabean said.

Hudson and his teammates saw the Giants’ victory on TV in their clubhouse. A few hundred fans stayed past a postgame REO Speedwagon concert at Turner Field to watch on the video board, and chanted “Bobby! Bobby!” while watching the Braves celebrate.

The Yankees and Tampa Bay started the day even at 95-66, with both teams already guaranteed playoff spots. To win the AL East, the Yankees needed to finish ahead of the Rays, who held the tiebreaker after winning the season series 10-8.

In the ninth inning of the Rays’ game at Kansas City, the Yankees’ loss was posted on the scoreboard. Tampa Bay players briefly exchanged high-fives, then rushed onto the field after closing out a 3-2 win in 12 innings.

“It took a little of the tension off,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We wanted to win this game. How ‘bout that? Extra innings, on the road, didn’t need to win. It tells you something about our ballclub.”

The Yankees and Rays both had plenty of chances to pull away in the last week or two.

“It would be stupid to say it doesn’t matter how you finish. We would have liked to get this thing done, but we didn’t,” Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte said. “The bottom line is: We’re the world champs until someone knocks us off.”

It’ll be CC Sabathia against the Twins’ Francisco Liriano in Game 1, the first postseason game at new Target Field. The Yankees were 4-2 against Minnesota this year.

Rays star David Price opposes Cliff Lee in their opener. Maybe the aces can stop another slugfest: Tampa Bay went 4-2 against the Rangers this season, outscoring them 40-31 overall.

Roy Halladay will make his first playoff start when the two-time defending NL champion Phillies host Edinson Volquez and NL Central champion Cincinnati, back in the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Philadelphia was 5-2 against the Reds, including a four-game sweep at home in July.

CORVALLIS — Ryan Katz came of age in Oregon State’s 31-28 win over Arizona State Saturday. Now the question is whether the sophomore quarterback can keep it going.

Ninth-ranked Arizona is not likely to make it easy when the two teams meet in Tucson next week. Through four games, the Wildcats rank second nationally in total defense, third in scoring defense and fourth in passing defense.

The Beavers (2-2, 1-0 Pac-10) pulled out the win over the Sun Devils in a game in which the defense made the biggest highlights. James Dockery intercepted Steven Threet twice, including his second game-ending pick of the season. Lance Mitchell had another interception and the Beavers pulled down Threet for six sacks.

But Katz, making his fourth career start, played his best game, completing 19 of 29 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. And he did it without go-to receiver James Rodgers, who sat out after sustaining a concussion the week before at Boise State.

Without Rodgers, the Beaver offense went through something of a rebirth: Katz connected with nine different receivers, including some younger players. Two sophomores, Markus Wheaton and Jordan Bishop, each had four catches.

“I think this can be used as a turning point,” defensive tackle Stephen Paea said.

Katz had ups and downs through the first three games of the season, which included losses to then-No. 6 TCU, then-No. 3 Boise State and a win over Louisville. The Beavers entered the game 113th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense.

The Beavers rolled up 416 yards of total offense against Arizona State. Jacquizz Rodgers, James Rodgers’ younger brother, ran for 145 yards and two TDs to take some pressure off Katz.

The Beavers universally called their week of practice the best they had all season, and Katz credited his video study for his improvements.

“I think we’re just getting more comfortable, “ Katz said. “We connected a lot of things and we’re just scratching the surface.”

Curiously, Oregon State coach Mike Riley, not known for withholding praise, did not tout Katz’s performance Saturday, saying only that he “persevered” and “got a little bit better.”

Katz’s teammates were more effusive.

“Ryan played a great game,” said receiver Aaron Nichols, who caught three passes from Katz for 61 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown. “A lot of people were criticizing him for the first few games. He showed what his potential is today.”

Arizona (4-0, 1-0) has given up only three touchdowns all year — all of them coming in its showdown with Iowa. The Wildcats are second in the country in total defense, surrendering just 230 yards per game, and only allow 129 yards a game through the air and just 11 points a game.

Arizona’s offense is driven by junior quarterback Nick Foles, who had his coming out party last season against the Beavers in Corvallis, going for 254 yards in a thrilling 37-32 win.

If the Beavers are going to return the favor, Katz might have to have the same type of breakout game.