Baseball: Braves steal past Giants

THE San Francisco Giants, runaway leaders of the National League West for most of the season, fell at the final hurdle last night when they were beaten by their old enemies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-1, in the final game of the season at Dodger Stadium.

The Atlanta Braves, who earlier in the day completed a season sweep of the debutant Colorado Rockies with a 5-3 win in Atlanta, now meet the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL play-offs, starting in Philadelphia on Wednesday, for a place in the World Series.