Giants brace for longtime rival Dodgers in NLDS matchup

SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Giants won an astonishing 107 games this season. But, that's in the past as the team prepares to meet the Dodgers in the postseason playoff series.

It’s the first time the rivals have met in the postseason and fans are thrilled.

"There's no doubt in my mind that they can go all the way," said Bill Bucho. "They just, they have what it takes."

The Dodgers clinched their postseason shot with a walk-off home run Wednesday night against the Cardinals. The Giants said they had been watching the Dodgers in that series very closely.

"We knew that we were going to have to go through them, and they're going to have to go through us to get to the World Series," said Giants' third baseman Evan Longoria. "So you know, better get it out of the way early."

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Jim and Kian O'Neill arrived in San Francisco all the way from Bozeman, Montana just to watch this series. They said getting to watch the Giants take on longtime rival Dodgers raises the stakes.

"The only time I've ever cheered for the Dodgers, 'cause I'd like to see them come up here," said the elder O'Neill. "Just the rivalry, it's one of the best rivalries other than the Red Sox and Yankees. Probably the two best rivalries in baseball."

The Dodgers came in hot this season with 106 wins under their belt, but Giants fans said at the end of it all they have little doubt who will finish atop the National League Division Series.

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"I think that we're going to watch the Dodgers get really tired, I think Kershaw is going to get really tired toward the end. I have a feeling they're going to go in five, you know," said Susan Corey. "I think it's going to be a battle."

There is an asterisk with this first-ever postseason matchup. Back when the Giants and Dodgers were still in New York they ended up tied at the end of the 1951 season and had a three-game tiebreaker. Then in 1962 they were tied again at the end of that season and had a three-game tiebreaker series.

Both those series were entered into the record books as regular-season games. And for the record, the Giants won both of those tiebreaker series.

The best-of-five series kicks off Friday at 6:35 p.m.