I like to think that's the beauty of baseball. The odds of every player, playing up to their ability in every big game moment is simply improbable and always means there's a chance. Whether that's Castillo, Romano, or the nonsensical collapse of Texas' defense in 2015 in a single inning which is always overshadowed by the bat flip.
I also think, most of us preferred to lose the final game to get the 3rd WC spot if the stars aligned and it worked in our favour.