SAN FRANCISCO _ Denard Span returned to the lineup and Ty Blach returned to respectability, but it wasn't enough as the San Francisco Giants continued their slide in the National League West with a 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park.
The Reds broke a 2-2 tie on a run-scoring double by Zack Cozart in the eighth inning off Hunter Strickland (0-1) as the Giants fell to 12-24 on the season before a crowd of 41,193.
Wandy Peralta (2-0) was the winner in relief for the Reds in what was a pitcher's duel between soft-tossers Blach and Bronson Arroyo, both of whom pitched well and neither of whom figured in the decision.
The Giants got a one-out bloop single by Nick Hundley in the ninth, and after pinch-hitter Buster Posey flied to right, Span delivered his fourth hit of the game with a single to put runners at first and third against closer Raisel Iglesias.
Brandon Belt, who had homered in the first inning for the Giants, flied to left on the first pitch to end the game.
The Giants were coming off a six-game road trip that started off well enough with two wins in three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, only to fall apart in every way with five losses in the next six games.
The worst of it came in the Great American Ball Park massacre in Cincinnati, when the Reds had a scoring advantage of 31-5 _ three games in which the Giants weren't remotely competitive.
The Reds took their first lead in the top of the eighth off Strickland, with pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett hitting a triple just over the reach of Span in center field and coming in one out later on a double to left center by Zack Cozart.
Blach's nightmare of a start in Cincinnati was transformed into a quality start at home as he changed speeds and worked the fringes of the strike zone. Through seven innings, Blach gave up two earned runs and had five innings in which he retired the side in order. He walked one and struck out two before giving way to Strickland in the eighth.
On the just-completed road trip, Giants starters had an earned run average of 7.71, giving up 42 earned runs in 49 innings. Blach was responsible for eight of those earned runs in three innings, an outing in which he gave up 11 hits and 10 runs.
Arroyo departed after six innings in favor of Drew Storen, giving up six hits, two runs, both earned, with one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 85 pitches, 57 of them strikes.
The Reds tied it 2-2 in the sixth when Joey Votto singled home Billy Hamilton, who had opened the inning with a single.
With a run in, the Reds threatened to get more when Adam Duvall singled, but Blach got out of it when he got Eugenio Suarez to hit a double-play ground ball to Brandon Crawford at shortstop.
The Giants went up 2-1 in the fifth when Span, in his third at-bat against Arroyo, hit a one-out, 2-2 pitch over the fence in deep right field for a home run.
Blach opened with three perfect innings _ significant because he never made it to the fourth in his last start against the Reds _ before Cincinnati evened the score 1-1.
Billy Hamilton opened with a soft single to left and went to third when Cozart doubled to right center.
Joey Votto grounded to first with the infield back, with Hamilton scoring from third and Cozart going from second to third with one out.
Blach then struck out Adam Duvall looking before walking Eugenio Suarez. Scott Schebler, the Reds co-leader with nine home runs, was next, but was retired on a comebacker to end the inning.
In his first at-bat, Belt broke from a recent trend that has seen him pile up walks but little else. Coming in hitting .220, Belt was 3-for-26 (.115) on the recent road trip with seven walks.
Belt watched from the batter's box as Arroyo opened the game with floaters timed at 70, 67 and 73 miles per hour on the radar gun against Span, getting him on a pop to third.
When Arroyo came in to the zone with an 83 miles per hour fastball, Belt didn't wait. He unloaded on the pitch and sent it over the center field fence for a home run and a 1-0 Giants lead.
_ Posey, who has homered in each of his last three games, was given a day off as scheduled, with Nick Hundley starting behind the plate.
"He needs a day today," Bochy said. "Yesterday, a day game, we put him at first and then he ended catching a couple of innings. So he's getting a much-needed day off."
_ Utility infielder Conor Gillaspie was placed on the 10-day disabled list with back spasms and right-handed pitcher Reyes Moronta was optioned to Class AAA Richmond to make room for Span and Crawford on the roster.
