Giants walk-off on Angels, 3-2

Final on the other side of the bay: Angels 2, Giants 3

The Angels stayed in the bay area after finishing up a three game series in Oakland earlier in the week to face the San Francisco Giants in their first inter-league series of 2015.  C.J. Wilson, making Friday night's start after having fluid drained from the elbow of his pitching arm, allowed a run in the first inning...and then nothing else for six inning.  However, the Angels bats must have stayed across the bay as they managed just 2 hits over the same 6 innings.

But then the 7th inning started.  Kole Calhoun lead-off the inning with a single to left, followed by a groundball to Giants' third baseman Casey McGehee.  That should have been a fielder's choice getting Kole Calhoun, but McGehee let the ball go off his glove and by the time shortstop Brandon Crawford fielded the ball and threw to second, Calhoun was safe.  Or was he?  Calhoun was called out on the play, but after a quick review, Angels' manager Mike Scioscia challenged the play.  The replay clearly showed Calhoun beat the throw to the bag.

Uh, I guess not...

The Angels' coaching staff and players went nuts in the dugout, while Scioscia got all Scoiscia-faced...

And pitching coach Mike Butcher sat back and enjoyed himself...

The Angels did go on to tie the game in the inning when the cold bat of Matt Joyce thawed enough to hit a single up the middle scoring David Freese from third.

In a curious move to allow pitcher C.J. Wilson to bat for himself with runs at the corners and 2 outs, the runners were stranded when Wilson flew out to center.  Later, television commentators Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza pointed out the likely reason Wilson remained in the game was to face the 3-4-5 hitters in the bottom of the inning.  The 3-4-5 hitter for the Giants were Angel Pagan, a switch hitter, Buster Posey, right-handed, and Justin Maxwell, also right-handed, so that theory didn't make much sense for the lefty Wilson.  Pagan lead-off the inning with a single, and came around to score on base hit by Andrew Susac, putting the Giants back on top, 2-1.

The Angels tied the game in the 8th on a gutsy play by Erick Aybar.  Freese hit a sacrifice fly to center, but it appeared the ball was too shallow, yet Aybar took a chance and beat the throw to the plate.

The Giants scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth with a bases loaded single off the bat of pinch-hitter Joe Panik.  Joe Smith gets the loss by allowing 2 hits and 2 walks in his 2/3 IP.