KANSAS CITY Mo. If there was a turning point in Game 7 beyond Madison Bumgarner taking the mound in the fifth inning on Wednesday night it may have occurred two innings earlier when Joe Panik took flight.
The rookie second baseman's spectacular diving stop and glove flip to shortstop Brandon Crawford who converted a double play was easily the defensive gem of the game and it proved to be a pivotal momentum turner in the Giants' World Series clinching 3 2 victory.
After the Kansas City Royals had scored two runs in the second inning to erase a 2 0 Giants lead they picked back up in the third with a Lorenzo Cain leadoff single against reliever Jeremy Affeldt.
The Kauffman Stadium crowd was roaring at full pitch as cleanup hitter Eric Hosmer came to the plate and on an 0 1 Affeldt offering Hosmer hit a hot shot up the middle that appeared headed for center field. But Panik dove and stopped the ball then made a glove toss from his belly to Crawford covering the second base bag to nail Cain. Crawford then relayed to first base for what turned out to be a double play.
Hosmer dove into first base and was initially called safe by umpire Eric Cooper. But the Giants challenged the play and after 2 minutes and 57 seconds of review deliberation Hosmer was ruled out.
The Royals got just two hits the rest of the game.
That was the first time I've ever done something like that said Panik of his two part jewel. It was just instinctual. He hit it well and it looked like it was going to shoot through. I just told myself to dive knock it down and try to get one.
The way Crawford turned it over was great and thank goodness for the replay system. That double play was big especially after they'd tied it up.
Bruce Bochy thought it was bigger than big.
Huge play the manager said. That ball gets through we're in a tough situation. Defense wins games for you and that play there saved us today. This kid he's been so solid since he's been here but to make a play like that on this stage it's just so cool.
Panik said since switching from shortstop to second base he's never really had to use the glove flip.
It's a little different type of flip for one thing he said. I practice glove flips standing up but never flat on the ground like that.
Crawford said he's seen Panik make a lot of nice plays but never one quite like that.
If he said it was his best play ever I'm sure it was said the shortstop. It's a quick infield so there's not a whole lot of time to think about what happened. It was a perfect flip and the play at first was bang bang. For us not only to take a hit away but get two outs I think it changed the whole momentum.
The only casualty on the play was Panik's belt buckle. It snapped as he hit the ground on his dive and he had to retrieve a new one.
Affeldt the beneficiary of the double play couldn't believe what he saw when he turned and watched after Hosmer hit the ball.
That saved us that saved me said the veteran left hander. They'd been hitting ground balls where we weren't the whole series it seemed like. For him to lay out the way he did flip it the way he did and then turn the double play that was the game changer for me. It allowed me to go out again because it limited my pitches. The way that kid made that play on this stage is pretty awesome. He was big part of why we just made history in my opinion.
While Bumgarner clearly was the hero of the night Panik was among the runners up. It was a fitting final exclamation point to a season in which the Giants had so many problems at second base early in the year yet were rescued at the position by their standout rookie who saved his best defensive play of the season for the final game.
Joe's played great said infield coach Ron Wotus. I think he punched out three times tonight. You don't see that very often but he made a big play on defense. He hasn't been over there at second too long but he's taken to it like a duck to water and he's only going to get better over there with experience.
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