From there, the final day of work for the iconic baseball voice went into routine mode on a day that was anything but routine. The 88-year-old hunkered down and prepared to announce the regular-season finale between the Giants he grew up loving and the Dodgers he spent his entire adult life bringing to millions of fans through his golden, friendly tones. And when it was over, his sign-off was purely and simply Scully.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Vin Scully arrived for his last day at the office Sunday morning wearing a blue sport coat with a red, white and blue tie, and of course his ever-present smile. He and his wife, Sandi, boarded a golf cart that took them to the press elevators and up to Booth 7, the visiting TV booth at AT&T Park, where a microphone awaited the last broadcast of his storied career.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Vin Scully arrived for his last day at the office Sunday morning wearing a blue sport coat with a red, white and blue tie, and of course his ever-present smile. He and his wife, Sandi, boarded a golf cart that took them to the press elevators and up to Booth 7, the visiting TV booth at AT&T Park, where a microphone awaited the last broadcast of his storied career.

From there, the final day of work for the iconic baseball voice went into routine mode on a day that was anything but routine. The 88-year-old hunkered down and prepared to announce the regular-season finale between the Giants he grew up loving and the Dodgers he spent his entire adult life bringing to millions of fans through his golden, friendly tones. And when it was over, his sign-off was purely and simply Scully.

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"I have said enough for a lifetime, and for the last time I wish you all a very pleasant good afternoon," Scully said at the end of the Giants' 7-1 victory to clinch a National League Wild Card spot.

Video: LAD@SF: Scully montage starts his final broadcast

All around him all day long, the tributes from the Giants and their fans included signs saying "Thank You, Vin" handed out to fans and "THX VIN" plugged into one of the spots on the out-of-town scoreboard. He waved and smiled when a pregame ceremony had fans on their feet, but he was in his seat and ready to go for the first pitch, as he had been for 67 years and more than 9,000 broadcasts.

:: Farewell, Vin Scully ::

This time, he recorded a special rendition of his trademark opening that played on the big screen at AT&T Park to get the game started.

"It's time for Dodger-Giant baseball, the greatest rivalry in all of professional sports," said Scully, who was not available for media interviews, choosing to focus on the job at hand and sharing the moment with his family.

Charley Steiner, who along with partner Rick Monday normally would share the broadcasting duties with Scully, had one job Sunday, and that was to introduce Scully's final broadcast. Steiner has had a front-row seat for eight days of amazing tributes to Scully, and really an entire season dedicated to honoring the venerable voice. On Sunday, Steiner knew one thing to a certainty.

"I think he's the happiest guy at the ballpark," Steiner said.

Video: LAD@SF: Giants fans, Willie Mays salute Scully

The joy came through as usual in the way Scully described the action. A few examples:

• The Giants opened the scoring with a two-run single by Buster Posey: "The sun has broken through the clouds and it is shining on the Giants for the moment."

• Matt Moore's attempt at a suicide squeeze: "So the Giants, with a poor-hitting pitcher, decided to try and squeeze, and he was a poor bunter."

• The Dodgers' starter was struggling: "It's gray overhead, but for Kenta Maeda, it feels like the sky is falling. He doesn't need Chicken Little to tell him that."

• Giants third baseman Conor Gillaspie made a spectacular catch of a foul ball: "Gillaspie went head-first into the photographers' well, and all's well that ends well."

• After his family joined him in the booth: "It has been a party, a retirement party, and it has been marvelous."

Video: LAD@SF: Picture montage from Scully's early years

And baseball fans around the world sighed and laughed and savored every last moment of a friendly voice's depiction of the game for the final time.

"He's going out on top of his game, doing something he's done better than anybody else and done longer than anybody else," said Steiner, who called being part of the whole Scully farewell the "highlight of my career."

In a special presentation in the middle of the fourth inning, Giants president Larry Baer and Hall of Famer Willie Mays were in the booth with Scully as he waved to the adoring Giants crowd with Frank Sinatra's "My Way" playing and a video presentation of old photos on the video board. At its conclusion, Scully looked into the camera and shared a perfect bit of perspective on this day for this man:

"I was sitting here thinking, talking to Willie: Who would ever have thought that little red-headed kid with a tear in his pants and his shirt tail hanging out playing stick ball with a tennis ball and a broom handle would wind up sitting here after 67 years of broadcasting and with my arm around one of the greatest players I ever saw, the great Willie Mays? There are miracles, aren't there, right? Let's go back to this one. I've had enough spotlight for 10 years, 10 lives."

But for one last time, the spotlight and the eyes and ears of baseball fans everywhere were transfixed on Vin Scully, his rare and gifted voice finally uttering its last words at a baseball game.

Video: LAD@SF: Scully's grandchildren join him in the booth

With the game over and the microphone turned off, Scully headed to the press elevator with Sandi alongside him, got on the golf cart and headed out of the ballpark, waving to Dodgers and Giants fans all cheering his exit.

But before he left, he had some final words for the fans in his last postgame wrap, words that tell the tale about Vin Scully and the love he has for baseball and its fans.

"You and I have been friends for a long time," Scully said, looking into the camera, "but I know in my heart that I've always needed you more than you ever needed me. I'll miss our time together more than I can say. But you know what? There will be a new day and eventually a new year, and when the upcoming winter gives way to spring, rest assured once again it will be time for Dodger baseball.

"So this is Vin Scully, wishing you a very pleasant afternoon, wherever you may be."</s>By the time Game 1 of the National League Division Series rolls around, Daniel Murphy will have gone three weeks without a start for the Washington Nationals.

When the NL East champs host the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday to get things started, one big question will be which team deals better with all the time off since the end of the regular season.

Another will be how the Nationals fare without starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg and slugging catcher Wilson Ramos, both sidelined by injuries (Strasburg for the series, Ramos for the season). And yet another will be how key players such as 2015 post-season star (while with the Mets) Murphy, 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper and franchise stalwart Ryan Zimmerman deal with nagging ailments.

“Almost everybody has something,” Washington manager Dusty Baker said. “So our training staff and everybody will be busy working on guys.”

After giving his players Monday off, Baker will gather them at Nationals Park on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for workouts. One benefit of waiting until Friday to start their post-season is the extra time for dealing with health issues.

Murphy last started a game on Sept. 17, kept out by a strained glute muscle. Since then, he has had only three at-bats, including a flyout as a pinch hitter in Sunday’s regular-season finale. Baker says he expects to have Murphy in the lineup against the Dodgers.

What does the player himself say?

“It’s tough to guess what’s going to happen on Friday on Sunday,” Murphy said. “But hopefully.”

His impact on the Nationals’ success — the nearly wire-to-wire division title, the 95 wins, the home-field advantage in the NLDS — can’t be overstated.

A year ago, remember, Murphy starred for the Mets in October, homering in a record six consecutive post-season games and earning NLCS MVP honours. That helped him get a $37.5 million, three-year deal from Washington, with a salary of $8 million in 2016.

All Murphy did was hit .347 with 25 homers, 47 doubles and 104 RBIs — all team highs — and really carry the offence for much of what turned out to be a real down season for Harper.

The youngest unanimous MVP in baseball history last season, Harper batted only .243 with 24 homers and 86 RBIs in 2016. After hurting his left thumb on a slide in late September, he sat out four games, then returned to go 1 for 11 with eight strikeouts over the last three days of the regular season.

Zimmerman, dealing with a bad calf, finished with career lows in batting average (.218), on-base percentage (.272) and slugging percentage (.370).

“You’ve got to tighten up little things, because there’s nothing you can about what’s already here. You don’t have Ramos. You don’t have this guy; this guy might not be swinging well; this guy might not be healthy. Or whatever it is. I just have to manage around that. It’s not easy. I’d rather just have everybody healthy and just have a set lineup, and me just sit back. But I’ve never had that. That’s never been the case. So I don’t expect that,” Baker said. “I just burn the midnight oil sometimes and keep that pad by my bed, and when I get a thought, I go with it.”</s>Vin Scully’s iconic voice on the videoboard welcomed a sellout crowd to Game No. 162, the regular-season finale, yes, and – more notably – the last of his decorated, Hall of Fame broadcasting career.

“It’s time for Giant-Dodger baseball, the greatest rivalry in all of professional sports,” Scully declared.

Scully attended morning mass in the ballpark as is his usual Sunday routine and then headed for his booth to work as he has done for an astounding 67 years – exactly 80 years after he became a Giants fan at age 8 in the Bronx.

“It was as if it was ordained,” Scully said during San Francisco’s 7-1 win that secured the Giants the second NL wild card. “I hope you’re enjoying it and I hope I’m not interrupting it too much.”

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy cherished his chance to visit with Scully last week at Dodger Stadium, and to be part of Scully’s special farewell Sunday.

“This is his last game, and we’re honoured to think he’d come up here, 80 years to the day that he became a Giants fan,” Bochy said. “That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? Not just a tremendous body of work but how long he’s been doing it and how great he still is. So it’s pretty cool.”

Fans in the sellout crowd turned to look up at Scully with their standing ovation and held signs as a Scully video welcomed fans on the scoreboard shortly before first pitch at AT&T Park, where he has been riding in and out of the ballpark on Hall of Famer Willie Mays’s golf cart and had some time to reminisce with the Say Hey Kid on Saturday.

The 88-year-old Scully politely declined any kind of on-field celebration offered by the Giants. San Francisco then jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first.

“Just as it has been for two years, the Dodgers are in trouble at AT&T Park,” Scully said. “The sun has broken through the clouds and it is shining on the Giants for the moment.”

Scully’s booth featured a special security detail all weekend, and Scully had several personal drivers to get around the city. He handled the Giants’ broadcast in the third inning, then said while San Francisco fans might consider it no big deal, it was for him, noting his appreciation of the thoughtful gesture.

Scully offered some memorable phrases early in his finale:

During Hunter Pence’s first-inning at-bat, Scully noted, “He would make coffee nervous. … He’s just been a wild man swinging the bat this series.” Scully noted later in the broadcast Pence is one of his favourite players because “he tries so hard,” but noted the right fielder is trying too hard right now.

“A room-service fly ball to Angel Pagan,” he called Adrian Gonzalez’s fly to left in the second. Later, Scully described Pagan’s “piercing eyes.”

Everybody involved seemed to appreciate the moment, being a tiny part of it or simply playing witness to the end of an era in baseball.

“It’s hard to repeat what happened last Sunday at Dodger Stadium, but the finality now, Dodgers-Giants, I know there might be a tear in Vin’s eye,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “To be a part of what he’s done in his last game, I’ll give him a little salute at some point.”

Afterward, Roberts called it a “huge honour” to be part of Scully’s finale and also “sad day, but it’s something that definitely should be rejoiced. He’s had an amazing career.”

Mike Krukow and the other Giants broadcasters told Scully how much they loved him and led Take Me Out to the Ball Game in the adjoining booth from Scully during the seventh-inning stretch.

How did Scully finish his career?

After pinch-hitter Rob Segedin flied out to left field to end the game in San Francisco, Scully spotted the umpires bidding him farewell from the field.

Scully closed his broadcast by telling viewers, “I have said enough for a lifetime and for the last time I wish you a very pleasant good afternoon.”

His work wasn’t done just yet.

Scully narrated a video of his own career highlights before he returned to the screen with a message that was taped before the game. He told viewers he’d “miss our time together more than I can say.”

Then he closed again, reciting a familiar and favourite line among Dodgers fans: “This is Vin Scully wishing you a very pleasant good afternoon wherever you may be.”</s>The Washington Nationals were finally able to lock down the second seed in the National League playoffs, an achievement that earned them home field advantage against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the National League West division champs who hold the third seed. The first game of the five-game series is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 7 at the D.C. Nationals Park.

 

 In a week that brought plenty of bad weather to the Washington, D.C., there were concerns over whether the Nationals would be able to play out the final games of the season, which were huge since the Dodgers were on a five-game winning streak themselves. The Nationals lost four of five, but fortunately the Dodgers hit a dry spell at the same time. The Nats clinched home field with an Oct. 1 win at home over the Miami Marlins.

However, the injury bug has hit the ballclub at the worst possible time. All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos was lost for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, after an errant throw from Ryan Zimmerman caused Ramos to jump for the baseball in rainy conditions and land awkwardly. Losing Ramos could be the death blow for a lineup already missing MVP-candidate Daniel Murphy, who hasn’t played in two weeks, and Bryce Harper, who is nursing a sprained thumb. Along with an injury to starter Stephen Strasburg, four of the team’s six All-Stars from this season are hobbled entering the playoffs.

 

 Manager Dusty Baker has attempted to give key regulars some rest going into the playoffs while still keeping the team on a winning rhythm. The postseason rotation hasn’t been set, but conventional wisdom indicates that Max Scherzer would start Game 1 against the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, offering a matchup of former Cy Young award winners. But Baker could also give the start to Tanner Roark, who concluded the regular season with a career-best 16-10 record and a 2.83 ERA in 210 innings one year after he was demoted to the bullpen. He allowed two or fewer runs across at least seven innings in 16 of his 33 starts. Another possible Game 1 starter is Gio Gonzales, as he is a lefty and the Dodgers don’t hit lefties well at all.

 

 Most prognostications have the Dodgers defeating the Nationals in the series, due to Washington’s spate of injuries. But one thing that makes the MLB playoffs so great is that unsung heroes make their presence felt every year, powering their team to an extended run.

 

 Who could be that guy for the Nats? Could it be someone such as Danny Espinosa, who, besides a six-week run, has been horrible at the plate nearly all season? How about rookie Trae Turner, who in just 72 games has 13 homers and 32 stolen bases while raking at a .342 clip? Could it be one of the backup catchers, season-long backup Jose Loboton or rookie Pedro Severino, who now take center stage following Ramos’ injury?

 

 October baseball has arrived, and every team has a chance to win it all. If sports went the way of common prognostications, there would be no reason to lace ‘em up. As former NFL head coach-turned ESPN analyst Herm Edwards once bellowed in a heated press conference, “You play to win the game!,” With Washington’s leadership and the hunger of players who were apart of previous playoff frustrations, Nationals fans should expect the team to give nothing but their collective best efforts.
Vin Scully, broadcaster for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers since 1950, calls his final game.