Finley’s slam gives Dodgers West crown
LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers have spent many recent Octobers watching postseason baseball on television.
This year, they’ll be playing.
Steve Finley’s grand slam capped a seven-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Los Angeles won the National League West by defeating the San Francisco Giants 7-3 on Saturday.
“We do it the Hollywood way — that’s for sure,” closer Eric Gagne said. “It’s amazing.”
The Dodgers qualified for the postseason for the first time since making it as the wild card in 1996. They won the division the year before.
They’ll look to win their first postseason game since upsetting Oakland in the 1988 World Series. The Dodgers will play at St. Louis if Houston wins the wild card or at Atlanta if San Francisco wins the wild card.
“We never quit — we’re winners,” said Odalis Perez, who will pitch the playoff opener. “We know how to do it. We finish.”
The comeback victory was the Dodgers’ league-leading 53rd of the season, setting a franchise record. The old mark was 52 by the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers.
Thirteen of the team’s last 14 wins have been comeback victories. They’ve won 26 in the final at-bat.
The 39-year-old Finley, acquired by the Dodgers from last-place Arizona at the trade deadline, was only too happy to come to the plate in such a spot.
“For the last two weeks, I’ve been putting myself in that situation,” Finley said.
“I was dreaming about it, and it happened. I wanted it. I knew I was going to get it done. When I walked to the plate, I knew the game was over. I even had a smile on my face, if I remember.”
Yhency Brazoban (6-2), the sixth Los Angeles pitcher, worked one inning to earn the win.
The loss — keyed by three walks and a critical error — left the Giants in a precarious position. Their division hopes dashed, the only way Barry Bonds and Co. can make it back to the postseason is if Houston loses today and San Francisco wins to force a Monday playoff.
“We lost — we didn’t win,” said Marquis Grissom, who drove in all three San Francisco runs. “We played a good game, we gave it up at the end. It doesn’t matter how we lost. We’ve got to come out and win tomorrow.”