San Francisco's best swing of the afternoon arrived a few minutes too late to change the ending. Drew Gilbert's two-run homer in the eighth scored Christian Koss and cut a San Diego lead to 7-6 on Saturday at Oracle Park, but Mason Miller finished a Padres win that kept the Giants on the wrong side of a one-run game.
Per ESPN's box score, Gilbert went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. ESPN's box matches that line. The Associated Press noted that Gilbert's drive followed Drew Cavanaugh's leadoff homer in the same inning against Bradgley Rodriguez.
Gilbert had already scored in the first when Rafael Devers hit a two-run homer for a 2-0 Giants lead. Shay Whitcomb added a solo shot in the second. San Diego answered with a steady drip of runs, including solo homers from Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr., and led 7-3 before the eighth.
A rally that stopped at the mound
Cavanaugh's first career home run started the push. Gilbert's two-run ball made it a save situation. Miller struck out two in a clean ninth for his 36th save, the AP reported, and the Padres escaped with their sixth straight win. The inning showed what San Francisco's lineup can still do in bursts; the ninth showed why bursts have not been enough.
Michael King earned the victory with seven innings and three runs allowed. Cesar Perdomo took the loss after five runs in 4 2/3 innings in his second career start. Xander Bogaerts went 4-for-5 for San Diego. Devers and Whitcomb supplied the earlier Giants power that King had to work around.