Playoffs!

Giants players mob closer Brian Wilson after clinching their first playoff berth in seven years. 

It definitely was torture, but the Giants got it done.

The San Francisco Giants (92-70) beat the San Diego Padres (90-72) 3-0 to clinch the N.L. West title and advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

After losing the first two games of the three game series to the Padres, Jonathan Sanchez (13-9) slammed the door on San Diego's playoff hopes with five plus innings of no runs, and scored what proved to be the winning run for San Francisco.

Sanchez blasted a triple off Mat Latos to right center and Freddy Sanchez singled him in with a two out single in the third inning. Aubrey Huff followed with a run scoring double to put the Giants up 2-0.

The Giants bullpen got out of two jams in the sixth and seventh innings to protect Sanchez's lead. The bullpen stepped it up big time down the stretch and didn't allow any earned runs over the last six games.

Santiago Casilla induced a rally-killing double play groundout in the sixth inning after Jonathan Sanchez allowed Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Ludwick to reach base. The next inning was the backbreaker for the Padres. Ramon Ramirez struck out shortstop Miguel Tejada to end the inning and strand runners at first and second base after a ferocious nine pitch battle by Tejada.

Rookie catcher Buster Posey tacked on an insurance run in the eight inning and Brian Wilson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his major league leading 48th save.

Freddy Sanchez celebrates after scoring on Aubrey Huff's double to make it 2-0. 

Buster Posey celebrates with battery mate Matt Cain after the win. 

 Giants players thanking their fans after the victory. 

Jonathan Sanchez got the win in the last game of the season, striking out 5 and only allowing 3 hits. 

It's fitting that the game that sent the Giants to their first playoff series since the Barry Bonds era was won with pitching. Jonathan Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson combined to shut out the Padres. 

The reason why it came down to the 162nd game of the season wasn't because their hitters didn't step it up in the first two games of the series. They averaged three runs a game over the series, which is fine for the Giants if their pitchers are up to par. The problem in the first two games was the starting pitching. Matt Cain got rocked for three jacks and Zito was, well, he was typical Zito. 

If the Giants will win in the post season it will be because of their pitching. Look for the Giants to win in the low-scoring games and the Braves to win if Atlanta scores more than 3 runs in a game.

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Speaking of the Braves, the Giants will host Atlanta Thursday Oct. 7 for game 1 of the NLDS. 

I'm glad Atlanta made the playoffs in Bobby Cox's last year as manager. They almost choked it away in September after giving up their first place lead in the NL East but held on and clinched the wild card berth with an 8-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

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The Giants NL West title ended a pretty amazing comeback and an equally amazing choke by the Padres. On July 4 San Francisco was in 4th place in the division, 7.5 games behind San Diego. At the beginning of September the Giants were still 4 games out after a dismal August when their starting pitching got rocked. 

The turning point of the season was a pitchers-only meeting manager Bruce Bochy called after an 11-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug 28. The vaunted Giants pitching staff had been getting knocked around and two time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum went 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA in August. I don't know what Bochy said, but from September 1 through the last game of the season the Giants only allowed 60 runs, or a shade over 2 runs/game.

Of course, the Giants also got huge help from the San Diego Padres. The Pads lost 10 games in a row from Aug 26-Sept 5, a major league record for a team in first place, and went 14-17 in September and October.

During the season I was so surprised by the Padres' success that I thought it was only a matter of time before they choked and it became a 3-team race between the Giants, Dodgers and Rockies. But San Diego proved me wrong by showing no signs of weakness throughout the entire season and I thought the Giants would have to win the wild card. Sure, the Pads did lose 10 in a row, but the Giants didn't make up that much ground then because of their own struggles. The Padres did choke, but were in the race to the very end, outlasting Colorado (too little to late) and the hapless Dodgers (see divorce scandal). The only reason the Giants didn't win the division by more than they did was because won the season series 12-6.

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This team looks completely different from the Giants team in April. To start the season Todd Wellemeyer was the #5 pitcher (eesh), Bengie Molina started at catcher (slowpoke), Aaron Roward was an everyday starter (overpaid scrub), Edgar Renteria was our shortstop (mediocre), Mark DeRosa patrolled left field (injured) and even Travis Ishikawa (need I say more?) saw some at bats. Can you imagine how bad the Giants would have been if we had kept that team? There's no chance the Giants could have made the playoffs with those guys seeing significant playing time.

Credit the front office and our farm system with coming through though.

Wellemeyer was 3-5 with a 5.68 ERA before the Giants released him. Madison Bumbarner, our prized pitching prospect, stepped up big with a 7-6 record and posted a 1.13 ERA in September and October.

Probably the move of the season though was the trade of Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers. It allowed Buster Posey to be our everyday catcher. Posey was simply amazing. Not only did he show remarkable poise and responsibility by handling the Giants pitching staff, but he was one of the Giants best hitters. He hit .305 and had 18 homers in only 108 games and is a leading candidate for rookie of the year.

Besides Zito, probably the biggest stink bomb for the Giants this year was Aaron Rowand. The only reason why Rowand was getting any playing time was because the Giants have a lot of money invested in him. Journeyman outfielder Andres Torres (43 doubles, 16 home runs, 26 stolen bases) had a career year and made it easier for Bochy to bench Rowand. The signing of Pat Burrell was also huge for the Giants. Burrell was cut by the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the year until the Giants signed the Bellarmine grad. Pat the Bat slugged 18 home runs in just 95 games, providing a welcome power boost.

Juan Uribe also helped fill the gap at short stop left by Edgar Renteria's nagging injuries and overall poor hitting ability. Uribe set career highs with 24 jacks and 85 RBI.

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Lastly, B Dubs tied the San Francisco franchise record shared by Rod Beck with 48 saves.