SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- It took until the final regular-season game, but the San Francisco Giants secured the NL West crown Sunday by beating the San Diego Padres 11-4 -- holding off the defending champions and division rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Giants won a franchise-record 107 games, while the Dodgers won 106, to secure a spot in the National League Division Series that begins Friday.
The two rivals have the two best records in the majors. The Tampa Bay Rays from the American League are the only other team to reach the 100-win milestone.
San Francisco avoids a one-game elimination against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals who went on a 17-game win streak in September to help secure the second wild card spot.
The Dodgers will host the Cardinals Wednesday to decide which team secures a trip to Oracle Park for Game 1 of the NLDS.
In a winner-take-all game, teams usually send their best starting pitcher to the mound, which is exactly what both teams will do.
The Cardinals announced last Thursday 40-year-old veteran Adam Wainwright will start on the mound.
The Dodgers will send one of its aces in Max Scherzer, who the team made a blockbuster trade for with the Washington Nationals in July, to start.
Wainwright was second among National League pitchers in wins (17) while Scherzer finished fourth with 15.
With longtime ace Clayton Kershaw out with injury, Scherzer is the next man up for the Dodgers.
The three-time Cy Young award winner and future Hall of Famer pitched in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series to help the Nationals win its first title in franchise history.
In other words, Scherzer has experience in elimination games.
The Dodgers are a -225 favorite over the Cardinals, according to BetMGM.
If Los Angeles handles its business and do what oddsmakers predict, the Giants will host their bitter rival Dodgers on Friday for Game 1 of the NLDS.
If St. Louis wins, the Giants will meet the Cardinals in the postseason for the first time since the 2014 NLCS, which the Giants won en route to their last World Series title.
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