SAN FRANCISCO -- A year ago, Joe Panik and his Double-A teammates were sitting in an Applebee's in Richmond, Virginia, watching in amazement as Tim Lincecum completed a 148-pitch no-hitter.

Wednesday, Panik was playing in one.

Standing on the infield dirt, watching Lincecum face San Diego's Will Venable with two outs in the ninth inning. the rookie second baseman remembered Venable hitting a ground ball his way in a previous at-bat.

"Just make the routine play," Panik told himself, eying first baseman Buster Posey. "Secure the ball, get it over to Buster."

The 113th and final pitch of Lincecum's second no-hitter was a grounder to second. Panik scooped it on the fourth hop and made a perfect throw to first, securing another historic moment for Lincecum and a day to remember for a rookie making just his fourth career start. Panik was called up Saturday to give the Giants a jolt at a position that has largely been a black hole without Marco Scutaro.

"Not bad for being five days up in the big leagues, right?" Panik said, smiling. "Here you are, part of a no-hitter."


The Giants hope the 23-year-old Panik is part of the future in San Francisco, but regardless of how his career pans out, the former first-round pick already is front and center in a highlight that will be shown for decades. Manager Bruce Bochy has three second basemen on the roster, the other two -- Brandon Hicks and Joaquin Arias -- far more experienced than Panik. Bochy inserted Juan Perez for Michael Morse in the sixth, but stuck with the rookie in the tense late innings.

"When you're in a no-hitter, those guys on defense, they feel the pressure. They feel it," Bochy said. "They don't want to be the one to make a mistake. I left him out there because he was out there."

Lincecum got 12 outs on the ground, three on bouncers to Panik, who started thinking about a no-hitter around the fifth inning. It was at that point that he looked up and saw a ballpark that was shaking and a dugout that was sensing history.

"I was behind Timmy, and watching the stuff he had and how well he was moving the ball around," Panik said. "I had an idea this could be something special."

The no-hitter was the first for Panik, who is so new to the big leagues that he is still living in a San Francisco hotel. A neighbor in that hotel has bragging rights, though. Infielder Adam Duvall was called up Wednesday and was right behind Panik in the postgame hug line, embracing a star pitcher he had not seen since spring training.

"Obviously I'll never forget my first day getting called up," Duvall said. "But especially not now."

  • Duvall was called up to replace Angel Pagan, who was finally put on the disabled list because of a lower back strain. Pagan had missed eight straight games. Duvall was hitting .297 for Triple-A Fresno, with a Pacific Coast League-leading 23 homers. Bochy said Duvall, who plays both corner infield spots, would get some starts at first base and help as a pinch hitter.

    "We think he can contribute in some way," Bochy said. "I don't care where you are, that's a lot of homers. We saw him in spring training and that's easy power."

  • Brandon Belt (broken thumb) will begin a rehab assignment with the San Jose Giants on Thursday. Scutaro (back strain) got two at-bats in a rookie league game Tuesday and will play again Friday.