CHICAGO _ Scars heal and seasons begin anew. But some bad memories never fade.
The Giants will not forget the way the Chicago Cubs strutted past their bullpen and kicked beach sand while eliminating them from the NL Division Series last October. In the first meeting between the two clubs this season, the Giants nearly held a dramatic re-staging.
They took a six-run lead into the eighth inning Monday night and came within an ivy sprig of giving it all back. But with four runs in and two on base, Hunter Strickland got the result that no Giants reliever could obtain when it most mattered a season ago. Strickland induced a double-play grounder from Willson Contreras and Mark Melancon navigated the ninth as the Giants held on for a 6-4 victory.
Strickland and Melancon protected left-hander Ty Blach's decision, which appeared so certain entering the eighth.
Blach stood where contact pitchers are often roughly handled: on the mound at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out. But the confines were friendliest to the Giants. A team that entered with a major league worst .351 slugging percentage knocked out a season-high seven extra-base hits, with Joe Panik accounting for three of them.
Panik, subbing in the leadoff spot because of Denard Span's sprained thumb, hit the first game-opening home run of his career and followed with a pair of doubles. Brandon Belt and Justin Ruggiano also went deep, and Blach induced plenty of softer contact as the Giants opened a four-game set by defeating the club that turned them aside in an NL Division Series last October.
Panik, Belt and Ruggiano each hit home runs with the bases empty, which has become either their fashion or fetish. The Giants' last 18 home runs have all been solo shots; they are three away from matching the major league record they set in 2011.
Hard to believe, but the Giants have driven in just 46 RBIs on their 38 home runs this season. They own 32 solo shots, five two-run shots and Belt's grand slam in San Diego.
Put another way: They have six home runs in 606 at-bats with runners on base.
They aren't running many full boats, but they compensated by running extra trips Monday night.Panik doubled in a run and scored in Belt's single in a three-run third inning against John Lackey. Eduardo Nunez stole his way into scoring position before sprinting home on Ruggiano's double in the fourth.
Home runs from Belt and Ruggiano, thought to be cake icing, turned out to be more integral to the main meal.
The Cubs' comeback was just as swift and sudden as the one they launched at AT&T Park in Game 4 last October, when the Giants held a three-run lead and were three outs away from forcing a decisive Game 5 at Wrigley Field.
They awakened against Blach, who entered the eighth with an outside shot at a complete game. Blach had thrown 94 pitches in seven shutout innings _ quite an efficient accomplishment considering his evening began with a 13-pitch strikeout of leadoff man Ben Zobrist.
But Blach did not retire a batter in the eighth. Jason Heyward flared a single, Javier Baez followed with a home run and pinch hitter Ian Happ tripled to the ivy.
Thus began Bochy's book of walks to the mound. Derek Law surrendered a two-run home run to Zobrist and gave up a single to Albert Almora Jr. to bring the tying run to the plate before Kris Bryant, the reigning NL MVP, flied out just short of the warning track in center.
Bochy summoned left-hander Steven Okert to face Anthony Rizzo, and after one misplaced fastball off the backside, it was time for another move.
Bochy didn't tax Melancon for a five-out save attempt so soon after the $62 million closer came back from the disabled list and a bout of elbow tendonitis. So it was Strickland who got the call, and the right-hander threw three consecutive curveballs before a 97 mph fastball on the inner half jammed Contreras just enough to result in a grounder to shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Melancon gave up a two-out single in the ninth to bring Happ, a .370-hitting rookie, to the plate as the tying run. But with a sellout crowd standing, Happ chased a pitch in the dirt to end it.
The result allowed Panik to enjoy a game in which he sloughed off a 2-for-22 stretch and matched the club's season high with eight total bases _ a mark shared by Madison Bumgarner, among others.
