Watch: Giants eliminated after blown check-swing call for final out of NLDS

The San Francisco Giants got a raw deal.

Down 2-1 with two outs in the ninth inning in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wilmer Flores appeared to hold off on an 0-2 pitch from Max Scherzer.

However, upon appeal, first-base umpire Gabe Morales called it strike three on the swing. The game was over and the Giants were eliminated from the postseason.

While there's no guarantee that Flores would have been able to follow through on his opportunity, he probably should have seen at least one more pitch in the at-bat. Check-swing appeals are not reviewable.

Players immediately criticized the call on Twitter.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler had a more measured reaction.

"Super tough way to end a game like that," Kapler said, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. "There's no reason to be angry; it's just a disappointing way to end it. But there are other reasons we lost that game."

Outfielder Darin Ruf, who hit a clutch game-tying home run earlier in the game, took an even more zen approach.

"It didn't look like he went. A check swing earlier in the year helped us, too. It's kind of funny how it comes down to those two events," Ruf said, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Ruf is referring to a July 22 contest between the rival clubs. In the ninth inning with the Giants trailing by a run, the bases loaded, and two outs, he walked on what likely should have been a third strike after the first-base umpire ruled that Ruf did check his swing. The Giants ultimately won, completing the comeback, and eventually finished a single game ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West standings.