San Francisco

Giants End 2017 Season With Sandoval Walk-Off Homer

SAN FRANCISCO — Imagine typing this sentence on opening day: The Giants avoided losing their 99th game because Pablo Sandoval hit a walk-off homer.

What a strange season this was.

Sandoval, who started the season in Boston, crushed a homer with one out in the ninth, giving the Giants a 5-4 walk-off win over the Padres in Game 162. They finished the year 64-98. The 98 losses are tied for the second-most in franchise history. Only the 1985 team (100 losses) had a worse run.

This one at least ended in style. Sandoval left no doubt with his shot, and he flipped his bat before racing around the bases for a raucous celebration. The Giants then held a ceremony for Matt Cain. Here are some other things to know from the final day of a looooooong season …

Cueto gets knocked around

Johnny Cueto gave up 12 hits in five innings in his final start of the season. He can opt out of his contract, but he isn’t expected to, and days like Sunday certainly show why. Cueto finished the year with a 4.52 ERA, his highest since 2009. His 1.45 WHIP was the worst of his career.

How Posey finished up

Buster Posey finished the year with a .320 average and .400 on-base percentage. He had just 12 homers, though, and none in September, when he was mostly playing first base. The average was his highest since 2012, when he was the National League MVP.

Triple threat

Luis Perdomo, the opposing pitcher, had a leadoff triple in the fourth and came around to score. The Giants allowed 58 triples this season, their most since 1977. The outfield defense needs to get significantly better this offseason.

DJ Brandon Crawford

Posey walked up to an Enrique Iglesias song as part of DJ Brandon Crawford Day. The shortstop had some fun with his teammates, choosing “Sorry” by Justin Bieber for Sandoval, and “Milkshake” for Cueto. Madison Bumgarner didn’t play, but if he had gotten an at-bat, the fans would have heard Savage Garden’s “Crash and Burn.”

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