Baseball News - Finley Leads Dodgers to NL West Crown



After getting off to a rocky start to their season and trailing the Padres and Giants in the NL West all season, the Dodgers turned things around when the July 31 trade deadline crept up.

They made a deal with Arizona acquiring center fielder Steve Finley and a deal with Florida that sent Paul Lo Duca and Juan Encarnacion packing, but the Dodgers received starting pitcher Brad Penny and first baseman Hee Seop Choi in return.

The Dodgers faced the Giants Saturday Oct. 2.

Not even the thought of getting themselves stuck in a classical Los Angeles traffic jam stopped Dodger fans from staying glued to their seats as the Dodgers could clinch the NL West with a win.

The Dodgers trailed the Giants 3-0 going into the bottom of the ninth and things weren't looking good, it appeared.

They managed to draw a couple of walks, then got a friendly error followed by a bloop single to tie the game at 3-3.

Then, with the bases full with Dodgers, Finley stepped up to the plate. He then proceeded to park a heater over the right field wall for a walk off, game winning, division clinching grand slam home run. "I was dreaming about it, and it happened,'' Finley said. "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.''

"We do it the Hollywood way, that's for sure,'' Eric Gagne said. "It's amazing.''

The Dodgers will take on NL Central Division Champs, the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. "If we beat St. Louis, we're going to win the World Series,'' Odalis Perez said. "If we beat them, this is it: Dodgers- World Series champions.''




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