SAN FRANCISCO -- For his second start in the majors, Ty Blachs task was pretty simple: Beat Clayton Kershaw, boost San Franciscos playoff chances.Easy.The rookie left-hander outpitched Kershaw, and the Giants held onto their lead for the last NL wild-card spot going into the final day of the regular season, blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 Saturday.Anytime you get the chance to go out there in a playoff race and give your team a chance, its a lot of fun, the 25-year-old Blach said. I appreciated the opportunity and tried to make the most of it.The Giants stayed one game ahead of St. Louis for the second NL wild-card slot. The Cardinals beat visiting Pittsburgh 4-3 earlier in the day.Matt Moore will start for the Giants on Sunday, and a win -- or St. Louis loss -- puts them in the playoffs. The New York Mets will host the NL wild-card game on Wednesday night.Were not getting too giddy here, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. We have work to do.Blach (1-0) earned his first big league victory, pitching eight innings of three-hit ball. He struck out six and walked one, and also got his first two hits.This was the fourth game in the majors for Blach since he made his major league debut in September.Thats one of the best pitching performances Ive seen, with this kid having a month in the major leagues, the stage he was on, whats at stake, who he was going against, Bochy said. He just had great focus and great command. This kid was locked in. Its hard to go pitch a better game than he did today.Sergio Romo pitched a hitless ninth for his fourth save.Kershaw (12-4) gave up three runs, two of them unearned, in seven innings. Angel Pagan homered in the fifth to break a scoreless tie.Kershaw is already set to pitch the opener in the best-of-five Division Series against Washington. The Dodgers loss gave the Nationals home-field advantage in that matchup.Were on a little bit of a slide here, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said following his clubs fourth loss in five games. Today wasnt a good day for the quality of at-bats. Some with the lack of familiarity (with Blach), but even with that I think we gave away a lot of at-bats.The Dodgers-Giants result was posted on the videoboard at Nationals Park in the seventh inning while Washington played Miami. It was announced that the Nationals had clinched the home field, and the crowd responded with a standing ovation.One day after gaining national attention for body-slamming a fan who had run onto the field, Pagan hit a 1-1 pitch from Kershaw into the left-field stands. It was Pagans 12th home run of the season and his first off Kershaw in 68 career at-bats.The Dodgers were limited to three singles and got only one runner to second base.Blach got Joc Pederson to ground into an inning-ending double play in the second after the Dodgers put two on, struck out the side looking in the third and retired 11 straight during one stretch.No matter how big the stage is, you have to go out and do the same thing as a pitcher, Blach said. I felt pretty good. We were able to get rolling in the first inning and after the second, with a couple guys on, was able to bounce back and just get into cruise mode from there and execute pitches.Los Angeles third baseman Justin Turner also committed a throwing error in the seventh when the Giants scored a pair of unearned runs off Kershaw.Kershaw retired 12 of the first 13 before Pagans one-out homer leading off the fifth.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: Eduardo Nunez ran on a treadmill but is all but certain to sit out the regular season finale and likely the wild card round of the playoffs. The team is optimistic that the veteran infielder can return if San Francisco gets deeper into the postseason.UP NEXTDodgers: Kenta Maeda (16-10) pitches the finale at AT&T Park on Sunday. The right-hander is unbeaten in three career starts against San Francisco.Giants: Moore (12-12) faces the Dodgers after matching his career-high of 11 strikeouts against Colorado in his previous start. Cheap Nellie Fox Jersey . 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On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. If theres a bigger babyface in all of professional wrestling than WWE superstar and former NXT champion Bayley, it just might be the woman behind the character.Pamela Martinez, 29, who adopted the Bayley gimmick in 2013 shortly after debuting in WWEs developmental territory, has never quite quenched her undying passion for the product, which ultimately might be the greatest secret to her success.With her colorful attire and sunny attitude, theres an almost irresistible quality to Bayleys character thats helped her connect with WWE fans in a unique way.Honestly, its an insane, weird connection that I really feel with fans instantly when I come out, because Im still very much a fan myself and I still cant believe that I get to do this every single day, Bayley told ESPN.com. So when I come out, I think they read that and they feel that. And I totally still remember what it feels like to be on the other side of the barricade and how important each moment is, just being able to be in the same building as your favorite superstars.A lifelong WWE fanatic and a native of Newark, California, Bayley grew up attending as many autograph signings and pro wrestling shows as her family would allow.Even her look is completely authentic to who she is outside the ring, down to the tiniest of details, including her bright clothing.Its totally me -- this is who I was when I was 10 years old, even with the hair and everything, Bayley said. I hated having my hair down because it got into my face when I was playing sports. My mom would always put my hair down and make it all pretty, and by the time I got to school I would have it up in a ponytail.Among the many firsts Bayley has experienced as her career has taken off over the past few years, she admits the debut of her own video game character via last weeks release of WWE 2K17 ranks right up there.Its something that I still dont quite believe is happening, Bayley said. Having a toy [of myself] was really, really cool, but they are so easily breakable. Kids love playing with them [but] my nephews have already broken off the ponytails and stuff. Thats cool, but I think a video game is just incredible because its going to last forever and its always going to be out there.Bayleys ascension to the top of NXT was a slow and steady build over the course of four years as she worked hard to become a key face of the brand. Along the way, she took part in a series of memorable matches against the other three members of the Four Horsewomen --Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. As a collective, they proved to be the catalyst in WWEs evolution away from the Divas era.As beloved as Bayley became with NXT in the tiny Full Sail University arena in Orlando, Florida, there was some concern about whether her wholesome and pure gimmick would work quite the same on the main roster. She had gotten big reactions during NXTs occasional showcases, such as NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, but lets not forget -- this is an era in which a white meat babyface has become almost extinct, with good guys like John Cena and Roman Reigns hearing just as many boos as cheers.Among the many doubters was Bayley herself, who worried how things would go in her Raw debut on Aug. 23 in Brooklyn, New York. Two nights after losing to Asuka in Bayleys final NXT match on SummerSlam weekend in the very same arena, Bayleys Raw debut was a smashing success as she entered the Barclays Center to a rousing pop that has yet to die down among WWE crowds.As the weeks went on, I was scared almost every night, Bayley said. But I think thats definitely a challenge that I was prepared to take on. I was prepared for everyone to boo me and say, Yeah, who is this chick? But I was lucky to debut in the Barclays [Center], which is like a second home to me. I was lucky to have that first reaction.Bayleys connection with the Barclays Center goes back to NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in August 2015, the brands first major show outside of Florida, when she defeated Sasha Banks in an instant classic that truly solidified her status as one of the best in the world at what she does.That match almost got derailed before it even started. Bayley nearly lost her focus entirely when she walked through the Gorilla position backstage and realized she was standing behind Vince McMahon, whom she had met only briefly once before.I was like, Oh my God! Why is he here! Why is he here! Bayley said. I started freaking out. I was standing behind him so he had no idea I was there and I was like, Oh gosh, I wish I didnt see him. It just made me a million times more nervous. I was real intimiddated.ddddddddddddBayley said she eventually shook the hand of the WWE chairman and thanked him for coming, while secretly hoping he didnt know who she was. After her match with Banks, it would become impossible for anyone backstage to overlook her.When we came back, he was laughing and he shook our hands and said, Thank you, that was amazing, Bayley said. And I just broke down. That was something that I would always remember.In October 2015, Bayley defeated Banks again in a 30-minute Ironman match at NXT Takeover: Respect that was recognized not only as one of the best matches overall in 2015 but also as one of the finest womens bouts in history. The match was the first time two women headlined an NXT TakeOver event. Recalling it brought back an incredible stream of emotions for Bayley, who began to tear up when asked about it.Having Stephanie McMahon and Lita sitting out there for [the Ironman] match, that was a huge deal because for the 10-year-old inside of me, Lita is my favorite ever, Bayley said. And then having [Triple H] come out at the very end, he said, You guys made this happen. It was the whole atmosphere of having the whole locker room out there [applauding]. Probably once he said that and I looked around, thats when it all set in.The relatable nature of Bayleys character isnt an act. She admits that she is forced to overcome fear and doubt in herself pretty much every day. But, asked to locate a turning point in the building of her confidence, she points to a backstage conversation with former WWE star AJ Lee during Bayleys first week with the company.As much as she remembers joining NXT with full confidence in her wrestling ability after four years on the independent circuit, it was the concept of living up to the image of a WWE Diva that scared her.I kind of felt like maybe I didnt have what it took to look like a supermodel and wear high heels all the time and my nails, Bayley said. That was something that I was struggling with, but AJ was actually someone who was there when I was kind of down on myself. She was somebody who made her career off of just being herself. She kind of let me know that it is OK, that I can be myself and that I could be successful just doing what I believe is right.Thats something that always stuck with me and really, really helped my career, she continued. Whenever I got down after that, whenever I had doubts about anything that I was doing -- and sometimes people can get in your head on Twitter or whatever -- you sort of have to just brush it off because you believe what you are doing is how you feel and what you believe in.Less than two months into her run on the main roster, Bayley has the same goals for the future of the WWE womens division as for her sisters in the Four Horsewomen -- to be a main event of a pay-per-view and, ultimately, of WrestleMania.She said the recent title match in the Raw main event between Charlotte and Banks was a huge step in the right direction, and she had the same reaction to Charlottes corkscrew moonsault onto the floor as many watching at home.Everything that Charlotte does -- and sometimes Sasha -- always freaks me out, because they are just incredibly athletic and so daring, Bayley said. I had no doubt she was going to land [the moonsault] perfectly because shes, like, insane. Shes in a whole other world.Bayley would like to see WWE take things one step further, allowing a greater variety of womens matches, including tables matches and falls count anywhere matches. Banks and Charlotte will get their chance to make history at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Oct. 30 as they vie for the WWE Raw womens championship inside of the cell. If Bayley is called to a similar opportunity in the future, she is more than ready.If I had to do something insane to win a championship match, then I would push myself to do it, Bayley said. Theres a little daredevil inside of me. Growing up watching Lita do these things is what really inspired me. Maybe Ill save it for my WrestleMania moment.In the meantime, Bayley is focused on giving back to fans exactly what she took from so many years attending live events.Any moment that I can give to a fan or to anybody in the arena, I want them to be able to walk out with some sort of memory, Bayley said. I think thats maybe why I feel like my connection with fans is so strong. Personally, Im still very much a fan myself and I know what its like. Im enjoying this just as much as they are. ' ' '