SAN FRANCISCO - Drew Cavanaugh's first major-league home run arrived with the Giants already staring at a four-run hole.
Cavanaugh led off the eighth with that solo shot - his first career homer, the Associated Press reported - and started a three-run inning that pulled San Francisco within one before the San Diego Padres held on for a 7-6 win Saturday at Oracle Park. Christian Koss singled. Drew Gilbert followed with a two-run homer.
Mason Miller then retired the side in the ninth for his 36th save.
The first career long ball did not erase what came before it. Rafael Devers had given the Giants a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first, his 37th of the season and seventh this month, and Shay Whitcomb added a solo homer in the second. Michael King settled after that and worked seven innings.
San Diego scored in the second through the sixth, with Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. going deep and Xander Bogaerts finishing 4-for-5, per the AP.
First career swing, sudden life
Cavanaugh's blast off Bradgley Rodriguez was the spark, not the finish. ESPN's box lists him 1-for-3 with the homer and an RBI. The AP account is clear that it was the first of his career.
Gilbert's two-run shot two batters later made it 7-6. Adrian Morejon struck out Devers and Bryce Eldridge to keep San Diego in front. Miller needed 19 pitches and two strikeouts to end it, the AP wrote.
Cesar Perdomo (0-1) lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on 10 hits in his second career start. King (11-9) allowed three runs over seven. The Giants hit four home runs and still lost. San Diego collected 13 hits.
Whitcomb's earlier homer had briefly put San Francisco back in front at 3-2; a fielding error charged to him in the seventh also helped the Padres add an unearned run. Cavanaugh's eighth-inning answer was the cleaner personal story inside a messy team night.