Resurgent Panik caps Giants' walk-off rally

SAN FRANCISCO -- Over the last month, Joe Panik has quietly emerged as one of the Giants’ most consistent hitters. His hot bat came through when it mattered most Tuesday night, as his two-out, two-run single capped a three-run ninth inning that lifted the Giants to a 4-3 walk-off win over the Braves at Oracle Park.

Held to just two runs over their first 17 innings against the Braves this series, the Giants’ offense finally came to life in the ninth against Atlanta closer Luke Jackson. Down by two, Brandon Crawford ignited the comeback with a one-out single, alertly took second on defensive indifference and scored on Kevin Pillar’s RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Pillar subsequently stole second and advanced to third on an infield single by pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval, who was replaced at first base by pinch-runner Mac Williamson. Williamson added another steal to put a pair of runners in scoring position for Panik, who singled through the right side to give the Giants their third walk-off victory of the season.

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“There’s no quit in this group,” Panik said. “It doesn’t matter who’s out there on the mound or what the score is, we believe in each other and we believe in ourselves.”

After batting .177 over his first 20 games of the season, Panik has enjoyed a key turnaround at the plate, hitting .313 over his last 22 games to lift his batting average to .254 on the season.

“I’ve been seeing the ball really well,” Panik said. “A few weeks ago, I felt like I really turned the corner seeing the ball. I got really comfortable going back to hitting with two strikes. Anytime you can hit with two strikes and feel comfortable with that, it gives you confidence throughout the at-bat where you can be more selective and really get your pitch and still be able to battle with two strikes.”

The beginning of Panik’s resurgence can be traced to Easter Sunday, when the 28-year-old second baseman consulted hitting coaches Alonzo Powell and Rick Schu after going hitless in nine at-bats in the Giants’ series against the Pirates. Panik decided to make an adjustment in his next series against the Blue Jays, narrowing himself off to help his hips fire better against fastballs.

“My hips were firing quicker,” Panik said. “Anytime that happens, it kind of allows you to see the ball a little bit longer before you have to make the decision to swing.”

On Tuesday, Panik fell behind, 0-2, against Jackson before battling back to work a full count. After Williamson’s timely steal of second, Panik knew a single would be enough to complete the Giants’ comeback.

“Anytime you can advance 90 feet, it’s big,” Panik said. “In that situation right there, especially for me, having Mac at second base versus first base, now I don’t have to hit a double to win the game.”

On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Panik shot a curveball through to right field, recording his second career walk-off hit and his first since May 1, 2015, against the Angels.

“He had a great at-bat,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We looked pretty flat. We just couldn’t get it going offensively. Their guy [Julio Teheran] did a great job on us. But that’s a huge win. We got shut down yesterday. We were shut down today. To come back and win in the ninth, that’s huge.”