San Francisco Giants - Photo MLB
The San Francisco Giants stomped on the San Diego Padres with a 3-0 win on Sunday. The victory made the Giants champions of the National League West for the first time in seven years.
The Giants’ .568 record in the regular season (92-70) made the team the third seed in the National League playoffs. The Atlanta Braves took the wild card spot.
“We nailed it,” Giants outfielder Pat Burrell said. “It was looking like it was heading the wrong way. Our guys toughed it out.”
That means the official 2010 playoff scheduling and seeding is finalized.
Manor League Baseball was facing the distinct possibility of hold an extra round of games over two days to finalize the postseason plan. It would have been a bonus for fans, but something of an annoyance for teams and players.
Tampa Bay secured the American League East spot when the New York Yankees lost to Boston 8-4. That meant Tampa went home again to starts the postseason against Texas, and the Yankees to face Minnesota for a best-of-five wild-card series.
That series begins Wednesday at Tropicana Field. Other games will follow at Target Field and Citizens Bank Park. The Braves will take on Tim Lincecum and the Giants on Thursday at AT&T Park.
“We’re probably not expected to do well,” said Braves ace Tim Hudson.
Nevertheless, the team has at least made it to the postseason, and Coach Cox at 68 years old said he is retiring after this season.
Cox led Atlanta to only one World Series championship, but the team also won 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005. The team had missed out on the postseason for the past four years.