Page "San Francisco Giants" Paragraph 63

Desperately needing a win against the Dodgers in the final game of the year to force a one-game playoff with the Braves in San Francisco, the controversial choice of Giants rookie pitcher Salomon Torres proved disastrous as he gave up three runs in the first four innings and the Giants went on to lose the game 12 – 1.

After MLB's establishment of the three-division – Wild Card playoff format following the 1993 season, New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson captured the feeling of many baseball purists regarding the thrilling ( and for Giants fans, heartbreaking ) winner-take-all outcome as the " last pure pennant race.