SF Giants lose in heartbreaking fashion and miss 2020 MLB playoffs
By Justin Fried
The SF Giants lost 5-4 to the San Diego Padres and missed the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion.
The SF Giants won’t be traveling to Los Angeles on Monday to participate in the 2020 MLB playoffs. Instead, they’ll be returning home.
And by home, we’re talking about their own individual homes because their season has come to a disappointing, abrupt end.
The Giants entered Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres needing a victory to clinch the eighth and final playoff spot in the National League after the Milwaukee Cardinals lot to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
All they needed to do was win. Instead, they fell in heartbreaking fashion losing to their division rivals by a final score of 5-4.
The Padres will be headed to the postseason. The Giants will be headed home.
San Francisco put themselves in an early 5-1 hole but battled back following a two-run home run from Brandon Crawford that cut the Padres lead to 5-3. Wilmer Flores shaved off another run in the eighth making the deficit just one run.
But there was no heartfelt ninth-inning comeback this time. Closer Trevor Rosenthal came in and shut the door in the ninth with the final out coming in heartbreaking and controversial fashion.
The SF Giants’ 2020 season ended in absolute heartbreak.
An Austin Slater strikeout on a — let’s be honest — awful strike call ended the game and the Giants’ season. That’s not the way Gabe Kapler and company saw this team’s season ending after what was really a promising and successful campaign.
No one saw the Giants being competitive this season. Yet, be it because of the shortened nature of the season or whatever, that’s exactly what they were.
The offense took a big leap forward with Mike Yastrzemski proving that he was no one-year wonder. The future certainly does look bright for San Francisco, but that doesn’t necessarily ease the disappointment of this game.
Perhaps it’s the fact that the Giants controlled their own destiny, only to lose their final three games of the season. Perhaps it’s the way it ended — with a missed call that was completely out of the team’s control.
Whatever the reason, this stings. Of course, it does.
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The Giants will return next season and the future does still look quite bright. But for now, there’s no way around it.
This hurts.