Panik Stays Clutch, Williamson Breaks Out, Giants Finish Road Trip 6-1

Over the past nine-odd years, the San Francisco faithful have learned to trust their manager Bruce Bochy and his brand of Bochy Ball, and why shouldn't they?

After all, this is the same person who was sailing the ship when the orange and black won their three World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

He fights for his players and his players fight for him.

Bochy is undisputedly one of the best in the business, and may find himself in the small city of Cooperstown, New York when it's all said and done.

So, when Bochy throws out a lineup featuring Mac Williamson, Jarrett Parker, Ramiro Peña, Conor Gillaspie, and Albert Suarez, five players who weren't even on the Opening Day roster, the fans, media, and players have learned to trust the man.

Behind the bats of Williamson and Joe Panik and another great game by the bullpen, the Giants capped off their dominant road trip with a 5-3 win, giving the Giants their sixth win of seven games away from home.

The win gave the Giants their 47th on the season, which ties them for the most wins in baseball alongside the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers.

They are currently on pace for 103 wins, a total they haven't touched since 1993.

On the birthday of Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, the productivity on offense gave the batting coach more than a couple of reasons to smile.

Up against the lefty Jonathon Niese, Bochy stacked up the lineup with four left-handed bats and the switch-hitting Peña, along with Williamson, who bats strong against left-handed pitching.

The lefty-heavy lineup worked according to plan, as the Giants were able to score all five of their runs against the Pirates' starter.

Joe Panik has been no stranger to rising to the occasion in this two-city road trip.

Despite only batting .188 during the road trip, the second baseman has come through in the clutch for the Giants, totaling three go-ahead hits for the orange and black, including a booming three-run home run with the Giants down a run in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The All-Star came up to the plate in the top of the third with the bases loaded in the third and delivered another timely hit for the Giants, clearing the bases with a triple to the gap to give the orange and black both their first runs of the game and the lead.

Panik's three RBIs put his season total at 36, which ties him for second on the team along with Hunter Pence. Brandon Crawford leads the team with 42.

Williamson, coming off a game in which he reached base safely four times, solidified his reputation as a lefty-killer.

In the rookie's at-bat following an RBI single in the four-run fourth inning, he took a Niese fastball to the deepest part of the yard and cleared the left field fence with ease for his second home run of the year.

The home run was a testament to Williamson's raw power, as the ball left the bat at 108 MPH and the estimated distance was 446 feet.

Williamson ended the day with three hits and four at-bats, including a pair of RBIs, and is starting to become more and more comfortable at the plate with more appearances.

In addition to the outfielder's great past two games, he had a go-ahead home run against the Boston Red Sox on June 8th. It's safe to say that the month of June has been good to Williamson.

Before being called up to join the big league team, Williamson had hit a home run in three of his last four games for the Sacramento River Cats.

In 42 minor league games, Williamson already has nine home runs after only hitting eight last year at the Triple-A level, showing how he has gone in translating his raw power into in-game power.

Meanwhile on the mound, Suarez had to fight through each and every inning to put the Giants in a position to win the ballgame.

Suarez found himself in a jam in the second inning, putting runners at first and third by walking Matt Joyce and allowing Jordy Mercer to single by leaving a slider over the heart of the plate.

With his back against the wall, the rookie adjusted to strike out the next three batters to end the threat.

With two strikes on Sean Rodriguez, Suarez didn't leave his slider in the zone, throwing two consecutive sliders down in the zone to strike out the Pirates' super utility man, then striking out the next two on fastballs off the plate.

Just like in the second inning, nothing came easy for Suarez, who had to grind through his five innings of work.

The right-hander had a difficult time consistently staying in the strike zone, falling behind in the count to swing the advantage towards the pitcher.

Despite the setbacks, Suarez, with the help of a strong curveball which he had a knack for putting in just the right place, found a way to work out of the trouble.

At the end of his five innings of work, Suarez tallied six strikeouts while allowing three runs, only two of which were earned.

The bullpen once again played a huge role for the Giants a day after it pitched six scoreless innings.

George Kontos, Hunter Strickland, and Cory Gearrin recorded a trio of holds in the sixth, seventh, and eight innings, and Santiago Casilla slammed the door on the Pirates for the second consecutive day by striking out the side to record his 16th save of the season.

Gearrin utilized his slider more in this appearance, which he was hesitant to use early on in the season because the movement on the pitch was flat.

After working on the pitch with Dave Righetti, his slider has far more sharp movement, similar to that of Sergio Romo's famous no-dot slider.

Today, Gearrin got Josh Harrison to ground out and Jung Ho Kang to strike out with the pitch.

Despite not pitching for eight days before yesterday's appearance, Casilla has not shown any signs of rust. The closer's fastball has plenty of life, and his curveball, arguably his most effective breaking ball, had plenty of bite.

The San Francisco bullpen as a whole has started to click in the month of June and have the third-lowest collective ERA this month.

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