LOS ANGELES–Joe Panik stared in disbelief.
Clayton Kershaw laughed it off.
It was one of those moments that didn’t seem real. Until it was.
With a high, arching flyball that hooked just inside the foul poul, Panik pushed the Giants ahead in the fifth inning of a 1-0 Opening Day win over the five-time defending National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Panik’s home run was hardly the most surreal aspect of Thursday’s season-opener.
After Giants’ ace Madison Bumgarner fractured his pinky last Friday, left-hander Ty Blach was thrust into the role of Opening Day starter and expected to take the reins in front of 53,595 rival fans.