Giants 3, Angels 2
SAN FRANCISCO -- Pinch-hitter Joe Panik's two-out, bases-loaded single scored pinch-runner Gregor Blanco in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night, giving the San Francisco Giants a 3-2 interleague win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a game that featured a controversial replay decision.
Coming off their worst opening month since 1991, the Giants opened a 10-game homestand with their fourth consecutive home win.
With the score tied at 2-2, Giants catcher Buster Posey led off the ninth with an infield hit against the third Angels pitcher, right-hander Joe Smith (0-1). Posey was replaced at first base by Blanco.
After right fielder Justin Maxwell bunted the pinch-runner to second, Blanco took third when the fourth ball in a walk to catcher Andrew Susac was a wild pitch.
Smith struck out pinch-hitter Brandon Belt for the second out, and the Angels then elected to intentionally walk shortstop Brandon Crawford to get to right-handed-hitting Joaquin Arias.
But the Giants countered by pinch-hitting Panik for Arias, and the left-handed hitter came through with his game-winning liner into center field.
Right-hander Santiago Casilla (3-0), the fifth Giants pitcher, got the win after pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Each team's first interleague contest of the season began as a pitchers' duel between Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson and Giants righty Chris Heston. Neither got a decision.
For the second time in the game, the Angels rallied from one down to pull into a tie in the top of the eighth.
An inning-opening error on Giants second baseman Matt Duffy opened the door for the unearned run, which scored when center fielder Angel Pagan had trouble getting a grip on a short flyball off the bat on Angels third baseman David Freese, resulting in a sacrifice fly. Shortstop Erick Aybar slid home with the run that tied the game at 2-2.
Pagan played a role in each of the Giants' first two runs. His sacrifice fly brought in left fielder Nori Aoki in the first. He later put San Francisco ahead in the seventh when he led off the inning with a single and scored on Susac's two-out single.
Wilson left after the seventh. He gave up two runs (only one of which was earned) on four hits. He walked one and struck out five.
The potentially game-changing ruling came during an Angels rally in the seventh inning that nonetheless propelled them into a 1-1 tie.
After right fielder Kole Calhoun blooped a single into left field, Freese hit a grounder that deflected off the glove of Giants third baseman Casey McGehee. The ball caromed to Crawford, who threw to second in an attempt to force Calhoun.
Second base umpire Doug Eddings called Calhoun out, prompting the Angels' challenge. Two minutes and 13 seconds later, after the crowd had been offered several replays in which Calhoun appeared clearly safe, the call was upheld.
The fans were stunned by the decision and Angels manager Mike Scioscia threw up his arms, but he was prevented from arguing without getting an automatic suspension.
Angels first baseman C.J. Cron followed with a hit-and-run single that advanced Freese to third, from where he scored to tie the game on a ground single off the bat of left fielder Matt Joyce.
But with runners on first and third, right-hander Jean Machi relieved Heston and retained the tie by striking out catcher Chris Iannetta and getting Wilson to fly to center field.
Heston got neither a win nor a loss for his 6 1/3 innings of work. He gave up just the one run on five hits, walking one and striking out five.
The Giants employed textbook baseball to score in the bottom of the first.
After leadoff batter Aoki hustled a liner to left-center into a double, Duffy pushed a grounder to Angels first baseman Cron, advancing Aoki to third.
Pagan then drove a Wilson pitch far enough into center field for a sacrifice fly that plated Aoki and made it 1-0.
NOTES: Angels 1B Albert Pujols (strained left hamstring) and Giants RF Hunter Pence (broken left arm) both took batting practice before the game. Pujols, who hasn't played since suffering the injury Wednesday in Oakland, is expected to be available to manager Mike Scioscia this weekend. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said before the game that Pence is likely to make his 2015 season debut sometime in late May. ... Golfer Rickie Fowler, in town to participate in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play event at Harding Park, watched batting practice from behind the cage and later threw out the game's ceremonial first pitch. ... The game matched a team that averaged 3.0 runs per game in April (Giants) against a team that went 10-0 last month when holding an opponent to three runs or fewer (Angels). ... The Angels made a roster move earlier in the day, promoting 1B/OF Efren Navarro from Triple-A Salt Lake. INF Grant Green was sent to Salt Lake to create the roster opening.