The Giants took the finale in San Diego to finish the season at exactly .500--81 wins and 81 losses. The Giants have never had an 81-81 record or even an exactly .500 record in their entire history going back to 1883 in New York. In 1975 they only played 161 games and finished 80-81.
The frustration of this season can be summed up with simple arithmetic. The Phillies are the #6 seed and they finished with 87 wins. (The Padres are the #5 seed with 89 wins.) The Giants fell short of the post-season by six wins.