CHICAGO - The Giants gave Mark Melancon $62 million to make sure they don't have an NLDS repeat, and the closer did shut the Cubs down in the ninth Monday. There's a far cheaper solution to those big problems, however: Score so much that a late-inning implosion doesn't matter.
The Giants gave up four in the eighth inning in their first meeting with the Cubs since that infamous Game 4 meltdown, but thanks in large part to Joe Panik, the cushion was large enough. Panik, back atop the leadoff spot with Denard Span aching, reached base four times and had three extra-base hits. He came into the game with a .172 average over his previous 14 games, but he took John Lackey deep to lead off the night.
"The last couple of days in St. Louis I started feeling better," Panik said. "I started feeling a little better and today it clicked. It's definitely a step in the right direction. I felt good. The swing path felt good. It's going back to staying on the ball and not trying to do too much."
With the wind rushing out toward the bleachers, there was no need to try and muscle the ball. The Giants hit a season-high three homers and added four doubles. Brandon Belt and Justin Ruggiano also went deep as the lead was stretched to 6-0. After Ruggiano's blast, a familiar feeling set in.
Ty Blach had been brilliant through seven, but Javier Baez took him deep in the eighth. Derek Law entered and gave up a two-run shot to Ben Zobrist. Just as in Game 4, Bochy started wearing out the track to the mound. Steven Okert faced one batter and plunked him as Hunter Strickland and Melancon started to heat up. Strickland got the call, and after falling behind in the count, he got Willson Contreras to ground into a double play, stranding a pair.
"No lead is safe on a night like this," Bochy said of the wind. "It's not surprising when the other team answers."
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It probably wasn't surprising to the players on the field. It did, however, bring back bad memories.
"You're human," Panik said. "You're human, but with the bullpen we've got, we have confidence that they'll shut it down."
As the Cubs rallied in the eighth and again the ninth, a half-dozen key plays from earlier loomed larger. Panik was sent from second by Phil Nevin on a hard single to left and he cut the corner at third perfectly, scoring the second run of the night. Blach helped kill one potential Cubs rally by cutting behind Albert Almora in the sixth. The center fielder had dropped a one-out bloop into right and he made a hard turn. Blach followed him to first, fielded a throw from Ruggiano, and threw Almora out at second, eliminating a baserunner ahead of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.
"We work on that all the time," said Blach, a former minor league Gold Glove winner. "I saw him rounding pretty hard so I tried to sneak in. We were able to catch a guy sleeping."
Blach was being modest. It is not a play most pitchers make, not in a 5-0 game. It was simply one of many defensive highlights for the Giants, who did just about everything right until the eighth. When the bullpen started to wobble, the lead was large enough that it didn't matter.
The win was the eighth in 10 games for a team that's threatening to get back into the postseason chase. For all that's gone wrong, the Giants are just 3 1/2 games behind these Cubs. They'll try to get another one back Tuesday in a reminder of what could have been: Johnny Cueto against Jon Lester.
Earlier this season, Panik would have hit seventh or eighth against Lester, but Bochy said he'll get another night atop the lineup. The manager said Panik earned it with his first career night with three extra base hits. After the first leadoff homer of his career - and probably life - Panik doubled twice. That helped build the lead, but it led to some ribbing hours later. As Panik addressed reporters, Matt Cain snuck up behind the scrum.
"Ask him why he didn't try for third on his second double," Cain whispered.
