SAN FRANCISCO -- If it is an even-numbered year, the San Francisco Giants find their way into the playoffsSan Francisco made it on the final day of the regular season, securing the second NL wild card with a 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of their rival.Denard Span hit a two-run triple among his three hits, and Buster Posey drove in three runs and had three hits.San Francisco, which won Series titles in 2010, 12 and 14, plays at the defending NL champion New York Mets on Wednesday night in the NL wild-card game, with the winner advancing to a Division Series against the Chicago Cubs. Madison Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, will face Noah Syndergaard.Los Angeles, the NL West champion, plays Washington in the Division Series.Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully ended his 67-year career, calling his final game 80 years to the day after he fell in love with baseball walking home from school.Midseason acquisition Matt Moore (6-5) allowed one run and three hits in eight innings as San Francisco (87-75) reached the playoffs for the fourth time in seven seasons. The Giants began the day one game ahead of St. Louis.The Dodgers got a scare when center fielder Joc Pederson came up slowly after diving to try for Brandon Crawfords RBI single in the eighth.San Franciscos fate came down to Game No. 162, just as it did in 2010. That year, Jonathan Sanchez pitched them Giants past San Diego for the division title. and San Francisco went on to win the franchises first World Series since moving West in 1958.After an up-and-down second half and a series of bullpen meltdowns since the All-Star break, San Francisco delivered an impressive offensive performance against Kenta Maeda (16-11), who surrendered five runs and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings.San Francisco has won 16 of its last 20 home meetings against the Dodgers.Third baseman Conor Gillaspie went over a railing and TV camera and into the photo well to snag Chase Utleys foul popup to begin the third.A superior catch, tumbling over the railing, declared 88-year-old Scully. Gillaspie refused to quit, eyes riveted on the ball ... alls well that ends well. The Giants are pumped.BAGS PACKEDThe Giants loaded their suitcases in the players parking lot early Sunday for the possibility of being gone a week.If they beat the Mets on Wednesday, they would head straight to Chicago to begin the best-of-five NL Division Series.Were hitting the road regardless, manager Bruce Bochy said. Its a case where youre definitely hitting the road, so get your packing done early. For a possible long trip, pretty much the message to everybody. How else would you think?SLUMPING DODGERSThe Dodgers lost five of six to end the season.I think weve covered everything this year with the 2016 Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts said beforehand. Just to see the way that our guys have kind of come together, its amazing to look back. ... To be in the position were in, its a good thing. Although weve lost three or four out of five, whatever it is, I still think the clubhouse, the mojo, the vide, energy, its still good.TRAINERS ROOMDodgers: Roberts confirmed Josh Reddick and Andre Ethier will be on the playoff roster, with Charlie Culberson still in the mix. The Dodgers hadnt determined how many pitchers they will carry.Giants: INF Eduardo Nunez missed his sixth straight game since straining his right hamstring last Sunday at San Diego. Hes unlikely to be available for the wild card round of the playoffs.UP NEXTDodgers: Los Angeles will work out Tuesday, tentatively in the early evening, at Dodger Stadium before flying to Washington on Wednesday ahead of Fridays NL Division Series Game 1 with the Nationals and having a session in the nations capital upon arrival.Giants: San Francisco will travel East on Monday morning. 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Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup.We chart the rise of Mauricio Pochettino and examine how he is transforming Tottenham ahead of their Super Sunday showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium... Sir Alex Ferguson never faced Mauricio Pochettinos Tottenham but it is safe to assume his team talk would have been rather different to the one Roy Keane made famous two years ago. It was Tottenham at home, recalled the former Manchester United captain. He came in and said: Lads, its Tottenham, and that was it. Brilliant.Keane was using that anecdote to highlight Fergusons knack for knowing exactly what his players needed to hear, but it said even more about Spurs. To their rivals, they were a soft touch; the Premier Leagues nearly team, where managers came and went but the formula stayed the same. Mauricio Pochettino praises his Tottenham side and credits the supporters after their 1-0 win over Watford at White Hart Lane Pochettino, though, is overseeing a transformation. The traditional flakiness has been replaced by what their head coach calls a winning mentality, and Spurs sit second in the Premier League having won seven of their last nine games, including Saturdays utterly dominant 1-0 victory over Watford. They are like animals, said an awe-struck Quique Sanchez Flores. They have everything a team needs to try to be champions.That includes the fearlessness with which they will approach Sundays clash with Manchester City. I think we are different people now, said Pochettino on Saturday. We live in the present, and the group of players, the staff, the club, the president and the supporters believe we are strong and we can win every game. This is important.This Spurs side is built in Pochettinos image. The former Argentina international was a tough, tactically astute centre-back in his playing days. He often references the influence of Marcelo Bielsa as a youngster at Newells Old Boys in his homeland, and he went on to spend most of his playing career at Espanyol, where he had two spells either side of a stint in France with Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux. Mauricio Pochettino took points off Pep Guardiolas Barcelona on three separate occasions during his time at Espanyol As a player at Espanyol, Pochettino was a leader, a captain and just generally somebody who people listened to when he talked, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague tells Sky Sports. He was a big-name international and when he returned as the coach in 2009, it was the return of the prodigal son in a way.Espanyol was Pochettinos first job in management and he inherited a side that looked doomed to relegation from La Liga, but within a month he had overseen their first away win against arch-rivals Barcelona in 27 years, and they ended the season in 10th place after an extraordinary run of eight wins from their last 10 games.For the next three seasons Pochettino kept Espanyol competitive despite the club being in what Balague describes as financial disarray. Key players were repeatedly sold but Pochettino put his faith in youngsters from their academy and the bold approach paid off. No coach took more points from Pep Guardiolas Barcelona, says Balague. With what he had, it was a fantastic achievement. Pochettinos managerial methods have received hefty praise Espanyol played with the high-intensity style that would become a hallmark of his Southampton and Spurs sides. It was possession football, with building from the back, says Balague. He gave the players the confidence to do exactly that and he made us [the fans] enjoy it. The results werent always great but for three seasons they were good enough and we were enjoying the football.Pochettinos side began to slide in the 2012/13 season and he left by mutual consent with them bottom of the table that November. It was a sad way to depart and showed he still had much to learn, but Southamptons former executive chairman Nicola Cortese had seen enough to controversially sack Nigel Adkins and appoint the young coach at St Marys just a couple of months later.The decision provoked widespread outcry, but the doubts didnt linger for long. Southampton successfully avoided relegation in 2012/13, and Pochettino was able to put his stamp on the team as they secured an eighth-placed finish in 2013/14 - just two years on from their promotion from the Championship. All the players bought into his philosophy and he got respect from every player at the football club. Matt Le Tissier I think his biggest asset was probably the team spirit that he goot going at Southampton, Saints legend Matt Le Tissier told Sky Sports.dddddddddddd All the players bought into his philosophy and he got respect from every player at the football club.Tales of Pochettinos gruelling training techniques began circulating in the summer of 2013. The Argentine subjected his players to three sessions per day during pre-season, and he even made them walk barefoot across hot coals. At times you want to kill him, simply because he makes you suffer like a dog, said Pablo Osvaldo, who worked with Pochettino at Espanyol and Southampton. But, in the end, you get the right results. Pochettinos demands were a culture shock, but Southamptons players were smitten by the 43-year-old and the club reaped the rewards. Hes world-class, not just as a manager, but as a person, said Adam Lallana. The way he man-manages his players. He makes you feel good about yourself.That year, Pochettinos men were the fittest and fastest side in the division, forcing opponents into mistakes with feverish pressing all over the pitch. Premier league tracking data showed Southampton ranked first for distance covered and high-intensity sprints, and it is no coincidence that Spurs have overtaken Saints in both departments since his move to White Hart Lane. Pochettinos Premier League running stats Season Club Distance covered rank Sprints rank 2013/14 Southampton 1st 1st 2014/15 Tottenham 2nd 3rd 2015/16 Tottenham 2nd 2nd Pochettino works on his players confidence as well as their fitness. He planted it into our heads that even if we were up against bigger teams and bigger players, we could compete at the same level as them, said Nathaniel Clyne. Personally, it took my game to another level.Clyne is not the only one to have felt the benefits. We do have to work hard in training and I do suffer but its an enjoyable kind of suffering because Im benefitting so much, said Danny Rose a few months after Pochettino arrived at Spurs. Im far more tactically aware and more consistent.Pochettino has a ruthless side, too. At Espanyol he stripped his former team-mate Raul Tamudo of the captaincy despite the strikers legendary status at the club, and he has shown a willingness to wield the axe at Spurs. Emmanuel Adebayor was completely frozen out after refusing to fall in line, and Andros Townsends days were numbered from the moment he publically rowed with fitness coach Nathan Gardiner in November. Andros Townsend was banished to Tottenhams U21s by Pochettino after a show of ill-discipline After Espanyol and Southampton, Pochettinos youth policy has been even more successful at Spurs. The philosophy is embodied by teenager Dele Alli, who has been a revelation this season, and Spurs dynamic and hungry squad does not contain a single outfield player over the age of 30. Pochettino is quite happy to give young players a chance ahead of big-name players, as long as theyre good enough, says former striker Terry Gibson, who came through the youth ranks at Spurs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I think he enjoys working with the young players because they take on board his ideas and theyre fit enough to carry them out.His treatment of Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane was the perfect example, adds Gibson. The club paid a hell of a lot of money for Soldado but he was quite happy to let them fight it out and for Kane to be the first choice. It has worked perfectly. Now theyre thriving and they look a really good side. Harry Kane has proven to be an important part of Mauricio Pochettinos squad Spurs have always had a reputation as a cup team but hes changing it now and we Spurs fans are really enjoying it. Were still pessimistic about winning the league or winning anything, but thats the nature of being a Spurs fan when we havent won the league for so long. I think there is a genuine belief now that Tottenham can go close.If Pochettino feels his players need any extra motivation when they travel to the Etihad Stadium, he could do a lot worse than remind them just how far they have come since Fergusons famous team talk. Watch Manchester City v Tottenham live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 3.30pm on Sunday Also See: Spurs have winning mentality Pochettino coy on title talk Premier League weekend grades Who has the best keeper? cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '