Giants walk off against Angels, win 3-2

I'm not sure how many nonsense wins every team should expect in a given season. Four? Fourteen? No idea. This, however, was a nonsense win, and I mean that in the best possible way. Consider how all three of the runs scored.

Run #1
This was a double from Norichika Aoki in the first, followed by a hit-it-to-the-right-side swing from Matt Duffy. It was one of those swings that was so very deliberatly geared toward the right side. If Duffy had hit a homer off the left field foul pole, he probably would have been disappointed. "Aw, nuts, that was supposed to be a grounder to the right side. Guess I'll round the bases."

Angel Pagan hit an uncontested sac fly in the next at-bat. This was Run #1, and it used the smallest of balls, but the run counted just the same.

Run #2
Pagan came back in the seventh and roped a single to right. Then there was a passed ball from Chris Iannetta, which led to Andrew Susac dribbling a 37-hopper passed a diving shortstop for another run. Remember when the Dodgers hit three homers in the first inning the other night? This was not that. That was what happened when you played that record backwards.

That run also counted.

Run #3
This run started with an infield single from Buster Posey.

/pause for dramatic effect

Yes, indeed. He's had infield hits before -- four of his last six have come in 0-0 games, if your local bar has "trivia nights" -- but it's still the ultimate nonsense move to start a ninth inning with a Posey infield hit. Maxwell bunted, there was another passed ball, and after an unfortunate Brandon Belt caught-looking -- collect them all -- Joe Panik won the game with a single.

That run counted the most of all.

It's not like the Giants got their runners by sticking their elbows out, then scored everyone on ambiguous balks. There were hits. There was execution. It all made sense, more or less. But there will be games, possibly soon, one where Susac's grounder gets caught. One where Duffy pops the ball to second instead of of grounding it. One where Posey doesn't leg out an infield hit. Those games will be annoying.

So take the time to embrace this one. That other team -- that team right there? -- that's the team that weaponized David Eckstein and set him loose on an unsuspecting populace. The more losses they build up with bunts and bloops and grounders, the better. That'll learn 'em.

★★★

Of course, those smallest of balls wouldn't have been necessary if the Giants hadn't kept the game close. Chris Heston is ... maybe one start away from being a thing. He might already be a thing by your reckoning. I want to wait just a little more. I'm caught between those Ryan Sadowski/Jamie Brewington visions of yore, in which the Giants' problems were unquestionably solved, and the Ryan Vogelsong embarrassment of recent vintage, in which I spent two months yelling, "LOOK, EVERYONE. BARRY ZITO IS PROBABLY STILL BETTER."

He looks the part, though, doesn't he? The sinker darts all over the place, the get-it-in curve works well for the hitters waiting for those sinkers, and he misses enough bats to make hitters a little jittery. Heston looks as if he can play a new-school Bartolo Colon quite well, just without the general jolliness.

During the game, there was a brief discussion about the whereabouts of Matt Cain. The report suggested that he felt great and was ready to come back soon. The question before you is this: Who do the Giants bench for Cain? Lincecum maybe, but probably not. Vogelsong, okay, but that leaves Madison Bumgarner, Tim Hudson, and Jake Peavy still expecting starts with Cain and Lincecum.

Here's a name you didn't see up there, though: Chris Heston. Was this the game that solidified his spot in the rotation? I don't know if it was this one or the last one or the one before that, but good gravy, don't deprive us of these Heston starts. They won't. Get your paws off me, you damned, dirty manager. He's reached that tipping point where he's going to have to pitch his way out of a spot, not pitch his way into one.

★★★

Andrés Torres stopping by the broadcast booth #Gigantes860 #SFGiants ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/0biaDnqLnl

— Cynthia Zenteno (@CynthiaZ_ESPN) May 2, 2015

AIEEEEEEEE, ANDREEEEES!

Literally wearing the Vox Media logo on his chest. All I'm saying is that it was probably on purpose and a message to me, personally. Here's a reminder that that this section of the site exists.

★★★

The most walkoffs since 2010:

1. (tied) Hector Sanchez, 4
1. (tied) Angel Pagan, 4
1. (tied) Andres Torres, 4
4. (tied) Marco Scutaro, 2
4. (tied) Nate Schierholtz, 2
4. (tied) Aaron Rowand, 2
4. (tied) Freddy Sanchez, 2
4. (tied) Buster Posey, 2
4. (tied) Brandon Crawford, 2
4. (tied) Brandon Belt, 2
4. (tied) Melky Cabrera, 2
4. (tied) Joe Panik, 2

That is a fun list. This is a fun single:

]

★★★

The Angels scored two runs on Friday night. The first came on a double play that Casey McGehee couldn't start. The second came on a short-hop that McGehee couldn't snag.

Yeah, okay, I'll ask it. What's wrong with you? The Giants just won on a walkoff single, you ungrateful twit. Do you need to denigrate baseball players to make yourself feel better?

Anywho, I'll just leave that first part up there. It all stunk at the time, believe you me.

★★★

C.J. Wilson is apparently wearing a nasty-ass bandana under his hat. It looks like this:

Nasty. It looks like he has a head of weeds strong enough to break through his standard-issue cap. Stop that, C.J. Wilson.

★★★

In the eighth, Sergio Romo faced Mike Trout for the first time in the regular season.

Yeah, he'll do that.