Giants win home opener but cost is still TBD

Over the first week of the season, San Francisco could easily be accused of playing like Little Leaguers. During Monday's home opener a bit of Little League went a long way. It was one of those days that was part comedy and part tragedy, and the lunacy began before the first pitch. It's OK for your team to be on fire; for the ballpark to be on fire was a little much.

Posey shakes loose the cobwebs and Giants fans look on in horror. (AP)

The concession stand conflagration was a minor nuisance compared what happened in the bottom of the first.

Diamondbacks hurler Tajuan Walker went up and in to Buster Posey, who took the bullet in the back of the helmet. Posey was clearly shaken and was promptly removed from the contest. He was taken to a local hospital for observationand The Chronicle reported the injury wasn't believed to be serious; Posey is listed as day to day.

While the prognosis was encouraging, the incident left us as nervous as Sean Spicer facing a lie detector. Head injuries are tricky things, and Giants fans have seen Joe Panik and Brandon Belt lose significant playing time to concussions over the past two seasons. Stay tuned.

God, we needed some comic relief.

The Giants broke a scoreless deadlock with a three-run fourth, plating all the runs on one play in which the ball never left the infield. Matt Moore's Little League double combined with a pair of errors to set the pace in a 4-1 win over Arizona.

Sound medical advice.

The key scoring play was a cross between a Three Stooges routine and my boys' twice-weekly T-ball games. Brandon Crawford got things started with a double, then Joe Panik and Jarrett Parker drew freebies to load the bases.

That brought Moore to the plate, and he topped a dribbler that didn't quite reach the halfway point of the first base line. Walker jumped off the mound and fielded it. That's where the fun begins.

Walker tried to nip Crawford at the plate but his throw short-hopped catcher Jeff Mathis and headed for the backstop. Crawford scored and, as Mathis rushed to retrieve the ball, Panik rushed plateward. Walker covered but Mathis bounced the return throw, letting both Panik and Parker scoot home.

For his part, Moore ended up and second, doubled over in laughter. It ain't funny when it happens to you; but it's bloody hysterical when it's the other guys.

Parker scores in a cloud of dust and he got a hit...finally. (The Chronicle)

The rest of the contest couldn't quite match that level of entertainment. Arizona got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on a Yasmany Tomas solo homer; a run the Giants got back in the seventh on Crawford's sacrifice fly.

Moore pitched a strong eight before giving way to closer Mark Melancon, who picked up his second save but had to pitch around lead-off double by Chris Owings to get it done. That kept an impressive streak intact. If we're not mistaken, the last 1-2-3 ninth from a Giants closer cane during the Clinton administration.

So there's tempered hope here. Yes, the Giants opened up losing five out of seven on the road but they're perfect at home. Being 3-5 sounds a load better than 2-6 and you've got to have some place to start, right?