BALTIMORE — There is no ceremony when a major-league team becomes mathematically eliminated. The magic numbers and breathless countdowns? The clubhouse preparations? The plastic sheeting over the lockers, the chilled-down beverages that will be sprayed more than sipped, the advance reservation with the carpet cleaning company? Those are for the teams headed to the postseason. You do not clinch elimination as much as you quickly nod in acknowledgment and dress in silence for the next flight.
And when the mathematical end comes with nine games on the schedule, as it Thursday afternoon when the Giants got walked off by Orioles slugger Anthony Santander in a 5-3 loss at Camden Yards, even the disappointment and dismay are muted. Tony Taters #Walkoff ! The @Orioles win it on Anthony Santander's 42nd home run of the season! pic.twitter.
com/DhmIZXT8TF — MLB (@MLB) September 19, 2024 The Giants have already come to terms with their own resignation. They’ve known for weeks that they didn’t win enough, didn’t play smartly or cleanly enough in the field, didn’t pitch well enough, and didn’t rise to the occasion often enough when their hitters had the opportunities to change a game with a well-timed hit. They are 74-79 and very much representative of that record.
They reside in a distant fourth place in the NL West and very much deserve their place. Advertisement “The little things, man,” said catcher Patrick Bailey , after calling for a backdoor slider from Ryan Walker.