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Panik on getting booed at Dodger Stadium: ‘It’s a good feeling’

By

Keaton Moore

/

© Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — Joe Panik didn’t come to Dodger Stadium looking to make any friends.

In fact, he made plenty of enemies by hitting game-winning home runs in the first two games of the season against the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen.

That was made evidently clear with the boos that echoed throughout Dodger Stadium when Panik’s name was announced in the lineup, and when he stepped into the batter’s box in each of his three plate appearances.

“It’s a good feeling to come to Dodger Stadium, hit a home run, and they start booing you in the ninth inning,” Panik said. “That means you’re doing something right. I enjoy that, especially on the road.”

On Opening Day, Panik took Kershaw deep in the fifth inning and it was enough for the Giants to beat the Dodgers 1-0. The following night, Panik stepped into the batter’s box in the ninth inning against Jansen and hit the game-winning homer in San Francisco’s 1-0 victory.

“With Kenley, he’s always going to go cutter,” Panik said. “He’s going to try and bury it in on your hands. So for me with him, it was just beating him to his spot kind of deal. I didn’t see the location of the pitch, but I knew it was a pitch I could hit and put a spin on.”

According to Stats, it was the second time in history that a team has won the first two games of the season with a pair of 1-0 games. It’s also the first time that back-to-back games have been won 1-0 off home runs hit by the same player at any point in the season.

Keaton Moore is a KNBR.com contributor, follow Keaton on Twitter at @KeatonAMoore

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