SAN DIEGO _ Two hours before the Giants took the field looking for their first win of the season, manager Bruce Bochy sat in the visiting dugout at Petco Park and offered a glowing review of third baseman Evan Longoria.
The Giants didn't have much to celebrate after back-to-back losses to open the year, but Bochy was thrilled with the way a healthy Longoria carried over a consistent swing from spring training into the regular season.
In the sixth inning of the Giants' 3-2 win over the Padres Saturday, it was Longoria who kept the line moving with an RBI single to drive in Yangervis Solarte from second. Longoria, however, didn't move very well on his way up out of the batter's box and up that line.
At the end of the frame, Longoria departed with an apparent injury, but the Giants did not announce any specifics. If Longoria was able to continue playing, however, there's little chance Bochy would have removed him in the middle of the game.
A Giants' offense that wasted little time establishing how challenging it would be to score runs this season cannot afford to lose any significant contributor, let alone a middle-of-the-order bat like Longoria who appeared poised for a bounce back season.
After the Giants waited until their 18th inning of the season to score their first run _ a solo homer hit by Longoria on Friday _ they didn't score until the sixth inning on Saturday. A Yangervis Solarte double brought home Steven Duggar, who recorded two hits and stole a base in an impressive effort at the top of the lineup.
Duggar's leadoff single in the sixth chased Padres starter Nick Margevicius from the game and set the table for the Giants' first multi-run inning of the year. Longoria and second baseman Joe Panik added RBI singles to give the Giants a 3-0 lead, but the Padres didn't relent and the Giants failed to add on.
San Diego tagged Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez for consecutive hits to open the bottom of the sixth before Bochy elected to turn the game over to his bullpen. Despite Rodriguez's low pitch count, 71, Bochy called on rookie left-hander Travis Bergen who surrendered a two-run double to Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer.
With the Padres threatening to tie the game, Reyes Moronta entered and turned in a dominating effort. The right-hander was electrifying in a 38-pitch, two-inning stint in which he struck out a career-high five hitters, including Manny Machado, Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis, Jr.
Moronta isn't the Giants' closer, perhaps only because he possesses an impressive ability to enter in the middle of innings and strand inherited runners with a devastating fastball-slider-changeup combination.
After falling to 0-2 on Friday, the Giants avoided their first 0-3 start to a season since 2012, a year in which the Giants won 94 games and claimed their last National League West crown.
