SAN FRANCISCO _ For a Giants club that scored just six runs in the first five games of the season, a matchup against Mariners' ace Felix Hernandez didn't exactly sound like the prescribed method to cure an ailing offense.
It turns out, a date with the six-time All-Star and 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner scrubbed away every lingering symptom of ineptitude.
From Joe Panik's leadoff walk in the first inning to Pablo Sandoval's three-run home run that knocked Hernandez out of the game in the fifth, the Giants made life painful for the Mariners right-hander in a resounding 10-1 victory.
The Giants' efforts to dethrone "King Felix," began in the bottom of the first with a three-run frame and continued into a five-run fifth inning that featured home runs from a trio of Giants lefties.
After first baseman Brandon Belt led off the inning with a solo shot to left field, Sandoval launched the 77th splash hit in AT&T Park history to open up an 8-0 lead that forced the Mariners to relieve Hernandez of his duties.
The very next batter, Brandon Crawford, greeted left-hander James Pazos with a solo home run that landed in the right field arcade seats. Sandoval and Crawford's eruptions marked the first time the Giants have hit back-to-back home runs since Crawford and Eduardo Nunez did so May 21, 2017 in St. Louis.
The offensive explosion paired beautifully with starter Johnny Cueto's outing, as the interim ace tossed five shutout innings before allowing his first run of the season. After Cueto threw seven frames of shutout ball against the Dodgers on Friday, he returned to AT&T Park and dazzled with an effective changeup and a sound defense behind him.
The Giants' first home victory of the season went according to plan for manager Bruce Bochy, who was forced to make a late adjustment to his Wednesday lineup. Left fielder Hunter Pence was scratched with a sprained right thumb he suffered while diving for a ball in the fifth inning of Tuesday's loss, so Bochy slid Gregor Blanco from center field to left and started reserve outfielder Gorkys Hernandez.
Sometimes a manager plans ahead of time, as Bochy did by starting Sandoval, and on other occasions, he gets lucky. Bochy was both prepared and fortunate with the lineup he sent out against Felix Hernandez, as Sandoval had hit two previous home runs against the Mariners' top starter while Gorkys Hernandez created his own history Wednesday.
After recording 348 plate appearances without a home run last season, Gorkys Hernandez took Felix Hernandez (no relation) deep to left center field to lead off the bottom of the second inning.
The Giants didn't score again until Belt led off the fifth inning with an opposite field shot, but the opening of the floodgates was a welcome sign for a team that was shut out twice in the opening weekend of the season.
Though Bochy elected to sit third baseman Evan Longoria a day after his first home run as a Giant, his decision to insert Sandoval into the starting lineup for the first time this season paid off. The switch-hitting infielder was one of the club's most consistent hitters throughout spring training and could provide a potent power presence off the bench this season.
The four-home run output by Bochy's offense marked the first time the Giants had accomplished the feat at AT&T Park since August 28, 2016.
San Francisco's defense backed up Cueto and the Giants' bullpen, as Hernandez and right fielder Andrew McCutchen each made difficult grabs on the run to take away base hits while Crawford twice threw out a speedy Dee Gordon.
After Cueto tossed six innings of one-run ball, left-handers Josh Osich and Tony Watson each recorded an inning of work before Bochy used his interim closer, Hunter Strickland, for the first time since Friday. All three relievers threw scoreless innings, helping the Giants close out an eventful afternoon.
