The Giants made the playoffs as the NL wild card in the last weekend of the season. They began by defeating the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS 3–2, with starter Russ Ortíz winning Games 1 and 5 in Atlanta. Snow ended the deciding game by starting a double play with the tying runs on base in the bottom of the 9th. In the NLCS, they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4–1. Santiago, particularly for his late game-winning home run in Game 4, was elected MVP of the NLCS.