Who says it's a bad thing to Panik?

The Giants must be butter because they’re on a roll. Yep, that’s a cornball line worthy of the 1970s that were “celebrated” with garish uniforms Saturday in Tampa. For much of the afternoon, the contest was nearly as ugly.

For eight innings the Giants turned up their noses at scoring chances line they were flies in the punch bowl. One swing of the bat made that factoid a footnote. Joe Panik's three-run shot with two out in the top of the ninth erased a day's worth of frustration as San Francisco rallied to grab a 6-4 win over the Rays.

This one isn't as long as the others but it counts more. (Getty Images).

San Francisco has won seven straight to go a season-high 17 games over .500 at 43-26. That’s good for a 6 ½-game lead over second-place Los Angeles, which kept pace by laying a beating on Milwaukee. 

Since May 11 the Giants are 26-8, winning at a .765 clip despite a roster with more turnover than Spinal Tap’s drum kit thanks to injury.

If that isn’t enough of a concern for the rest of the NL West, Giants beat writer Hank Schulman noted via Twitter that the run could continue for some time. The Orange and Black don’t face a team with a current winning record until a trip to Boston on July 19; 31 games and an All-Star Break away.

The long ball was in fashion on Saturday, certainly more in fashion than those unis with eight of the games 10 runs crossing the plate on balls hit out of play. The Rays provided four of them but managed to get the least from the most with each slugger rounding the bases by himself.

Side note: the orange jersey with script “Giants” across the front is at least accurate. Heck we used to own one back when Blondie was cool (Blondie was never cool), even though the color scheme leaves us thinking we should be looking at five guys gathered around a single pothole on the 101. But the Rays’ first season was 1998. Where did they get the throwbacks, from a Timothy Leary hallucination?

Also not around in the 1970s, Albert Suarez. The 26-year-old swing man returned to the starting rotation a day earlier than expected when a stiff neck pushed Jake Peavy’s outing back a day. Perhaps he could have used the extra preparation. Suarez allowed just five hits over 4 2/3 innings (4K, 2BB) but three of them combined for almost 1,300 feet of home run. As a result, the Giants spent most of the day playing catch-up.

It was Suarez’s third start and ninth big league appearance, none of which had seen him surrender a homer. He wasn’t alone; Cory Gearrin offered up another shot in the ninth. Props to both for picking up San Francisco’s solo home run duties in Santiago Casilla’s absence. Evan Longoria, Brad Miller, Logan Morrison and Logan Forsythe did the honors for Tampa Bay, just in case anyone was interested.

There are no words. 

Longoria’s blast in the first gave the Rays a quick 1-0 lead and started the day’s rally-fall-rally-fall cycle that continued until the ninth. Matt Duffy got the Giants even with his own deep drive in the second but Miller went yard in the Tampa Bay third and Morrison jacked his own in the fourth to give starter Matt Moore a 3-1 lead.

It could have been less interesting but the G-Men squandered a two-on, none-out opportunity in the fourth and really loused up a chance in the fifth. The Giants had loaded the bases and scored a run when Panik took an 0-2 pitch to the helmet, forcing home Trevor Brown and cutting the edge to 3-2.

But the Giants couldn’t push the equalizer across. Brandon Belt lined out to first, and Morrison turned that into a twin killing when Denard Span was caught halfway to Daytona and doubled off second. Moore got Buster Posey to line out to end the threat.

It was that kind of day. Through seven innings the Giants were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and that hit didn’t plate a run. Not to be out-done, the Rays were 0-for-6 in that regard.

The Giants pulled even in the eighth when they finally got that elusive clutch AB. The DH-ing Posey ripped a one-out single off Erasmo Ramirez, Duffy sacrificed Posey to second, and Brandon Crawford cashed in with a single to right.

It appeared the Giants would hand that run right back. Steven Okert, George Kontos and Josh Osich held Tampa Bay in check after Suarez’s departure, but Hunter Strickland was greeted by a Longoria double to start the home eighth. A line-out and two fly balls were massaged around an intentional walk to keep the contest even and set up Panik’s heroics.

The two-out drive off Rays closer Alex Colome (also channeling Casilla) ended his streak of 21 scoreless innings. Panik was denied, or saved from, the solo shot club because Brown and Gregor Blanco had singled ahead of him. It was part of a big day for Brown, who reached base four times and scored twice in a rare start brought by the inter-league play irregularity (well that’s what it is) that allowed Posey to be a hitter only.

Counting the noggin knocker, Panik logged a career-high four RBIs with just the one hit. Brown was the stats hero with a double, two singles and a walk to lead an 11-hit attack. Posey and Blanco also had multi-hit games.

Strickland (3-0) got the win and Gearrin a save (2) because scoring rules required it.

The series concludes on Sunday as Peavy (3-6, 5.83 ERA) gets his delayed start against Jake Odorizzi (3-3, 3.79). Then it’s off to Pittsburgh for a three-game set that finishes the two-city trip.

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