CHICAGO (AP) — Joe Panik felt a little better the past couple days in St. Louis. He felt a lot better after his performance Monday night.
Panik hit his first career leadoff homer and doubled twice, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 victory against the Chicago Cubs.
Brandon Belt also connected and Ty Blach (2-2) pitched into the eighth inning in the first meeting between the teams since San Francisco was eliminated by Chicago in the NL Division Series last year.
Panik, Belt and Justin Ruggiano each had two RBIs as the streaking Giants won for the eighth time in 10 games.
Ruggiano’s leadoff drive in the eighth made it 6-0 and gave San Francisco 18 straight solo homers, just three away from matching its major league record of 21 from 2011.