The Giants battled back to pull within one run late, but they fell 5-4 to the Padres on Sunday to miss the playoffs by one win. Brandon Crawford and Wilmer Flores homered late, but it wasn’t enough to beat San Diego.
Everything broke the right way for the Giants on Sunday. They couldn't take advantage.
The season officially ended with a 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres (37-23) in the 60th game, as a comeback attempt fell short and the Giants (29-31) were left wondering what could have been. With a golden opportunity to turn a rebuilding season into an appearance in the expanded postseason, they lost three straight to end the year, falling apart at the worst possible time.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Milwaukee Brewers lost in St. Louis on Sunday and the Giants faced a Padres team that went with a bullpen game on the final day and pulled stars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. early, but the Giants were flat early and that cost them. They finished two games under .500 in Gabe Kapler's first season, tied with the Brewers, who hold the tiebreaker by way of having a better in-division record.
Here are three things to know.
Download and subscribe to the Balk Talk Podcast
San Francisco Giants
Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Missed Opportunities
The Giants chipped away with Brandon Crawford's two-run blast into the arcade in the seventh, but in that inning and the previous one they whiffed on some good chances. It didn't help that home plate umpire Rob Drake missed two calls on inside pitches, sitting two Giants down, but still, they had other opportunities.
Right-hander Austin Adams was leaking oil but the Padres let him face Brandon Belt with two on and an open base in the sixth. Belt grounded out to second. An inning later, after Crawford's homer, Donovan Solano came up against lefty Tim Hill with two on. The Giants' batting average leader struck out.
The Crushing Rally
The Padres tacked on some huge runs in the seventh, an inning that started with Evan Longoria's fielding error. After a relief pitcher at-bat -- the first of the year -- because the Padres lost their DH spot to an injury swap, Jurickson Profar singled and Jorge Mateo doubled to make it 3-1. A sacrifice fly and Wil Myers' double tacked on two more runs.
RELATED: Pence cheers for Giants in Cove on first day of retirement
What An Addition
Drew Smyly, signed to a one-year deal in January, gave the Giants everything they needed in the biggest game of the year. Smyly struck out seven the first time through the order and finished with 10 in five innings. It was his 11th career double-digit strikeout day, and his high as a Giant.
Smyly paid for a couple of mistakes, including a curveball that Wil Myers crushed to left for the first run of the game. Mitch Moreland later added an RBI double. Smyly gave up two earned in five innings, finishing with a 3.42 ERA. He struck out 42 in 26 1/3 innings. Like Kevin Gausman, he's someone the Giants should want back next year.