SAN FRANCISCO — Joe Panik had a lot of time alone with his thoughts as Don Mattingly walked the Oregon Trail in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“My first reaction was, now I know what NFL kickers feel like when they’re getting iced at the end of a game,” Panik said, smiling. “It felt like a while.”
It was, but Panik kept his cool, and his game plan. With five infielders (including Yasiel Puig), Panik was just looking for something that he could lift deep enough to bring Gregor Blanco racing home from third. The first pitch from J.