SAN FRANCISCO — Before Tuesday’s game, manager Bruce Bochy shrugged when asked if he was concerned about a two-week slump by his lineup. The Giants were winning with pitching and defense, Bochy said, and that was just fine with a manager who figured the hitting would come around eventually.
Well, the lineup finally broke through — and once again the Giants got strong pitching and defense. It all added up to an 8-2 win over the Padres that was the 12th in 13 games for the Giants. The eight-run performance was the first for the lineup since a 9-6 win in Cincinnati on May 2.
Jeff Samardzija didn’t have any clean innings, but he didn’t really have any particularly tough ones, either. He put a runner on in each of the first five innings but didn’t allow a run until the sixth, when Jon Jay ambushed the first pitch of the frame and dropped a homer into the arcade section in right field.
The Giants led 1-0 at the time on Denard Span’s RBI single, and they would tack on a pair in the sixth. Joe Panik drew a leadoff walk and scored two batters later when Buster Posey smacked a double into the left field corner. Posey scored on Brandon Crawford’s single to right.
Samardzija wouldn’t make it out of the seventh, getting lifted after a single and walk with two outs. Josh Osich entered and made an error that loaded the bases. He went 3-2 on Alexi Amarista, but got an inning-ending grounder to second.
The Giants broke open a two-run game in the bottom of the eighth. Brandon Crawford hit a bases-clearing triple after a double and two walks, and Jarrett Parker followed that up with a two-run blast to dead center.
