SAN FRANCISCO _ Every time Bruce Bochy meets with reporters before a game, the Giants' manager seems to reveal a new injury that threatens to further decimate a roster that's taking daily punches to its core.
Each time Bochy meets with reporters after a series, the skipper offers a new explanation for how a team that's been backed into the ropes wound up winning another fight.
The Giants captured their fourth straight series victory Wednesday with a 9-4 win over the San Diego Padres and rewarded starter Derek Holland with his first win of the year.
"We've had some tough breaks so far injury-wise," catcher Nick Hundley said. "But I think it speaks to the depth that we've cultivated through the organization and through the offseason. We can withstand that."
Against a Padres team that entered AT&T Park having defeated the Giants in eight of the past 10 series the two sides played, San Francisco rallied for three runs in the first and never looked back en route to a win that pushed the club a game above .500.
With starting catcher Buster Posey taking a day to rest, Hundley powered the Giants to a win with hits in his first four at-bats including a two-run home run into the right field arcade seats in the bottom of the fourth.
A year after the Giants failed to win four straight series all season, Bochy's squad accomplished the feat for the first time since taking five series in a row between June 10-June 26, 2016.
"A great homestand," Bochy said. "Guys really played well and it was really good to get another series."
Hundley finished a triple shy of the cycle and launched three extra base hits including two against Padres starter Clayton Richard, who exited after throwing 101 pitches in four labor-intensive innings.
"He is hot," Holland said. "Let's keep that going. What's great about the game is when a guy gets hot, another guy gets hot and they're feeding off each other and that's what we like to see."
With Hundley hitting in the cleanup spot, the four, five and six hitters in the Giants' lineup combined to go 7-for-8 with four walks the first four times through the order. First baseman Brandon Belt hit fifth and ended his day with two hits and two walks while center fielder Austin Jackson delivered a two-run double in the first inning out of the six-hole.
The team's No. 7 hitter, Brandon Crawford, also contributed to a big day with two singles, a sacrifice fly and three RBIs that doubled his RBI total for the season.
The victory over the Padres helped the Giants cap off a 7-3 homestand, but series against Washington, Los Angeles and San Diego created new cracks in a roster that's foundation wasn't necessarily sturdy to begin with.
Hours after second baseman Joe Panik spoke for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb, right fielder Andrew McCutchen exited the game in the fourth inning after being plunked on the elbow by a Richard fastball in the top of the second.
McCutchen's X-Ray came back negative, but he's not the only Giants regular the team is concerned about. Panik is scheduled to miss six weeks while starter Johnny Cueto, the National League ERA leader, could be out much longer.
Cueto was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday with right elbow inflammation and on Wednesday, Bochy wasn't ready to rule out the possibility of a UCL injury.
While the Giants' disabled list is now loaded down with several marquee players, one pitcher enjoyed a triumphant return to the mound against the Padres.
Left-handed reliever Will Smith made his first appearance for the Giants since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2017, throwing a scoreless seventh inning that finished with a strikeout of Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer. Smith celebrated the punchout with a fist pump and received a standing ovation from the crowd surrounding the Giants' dugout after Hundley tossed him a ball to save as a keepsake.
"You sit out almost a year and a half and just to be able to play baseball again was a pretty incredible feeling I'll probably never forget," Smith said.
After finishing the 2016 season with 18 straight scoreless appearances, Smith's streak remains active at 19 games.
An outburst from the Giants' offense and a strong day from the bullpen helped Holland pick up his first victory in the orange and black after going winless in his first five starts.
The left-hander allowed three runs over five innings and figures to be an important part of a rotation that could be without its top two starters for the next month. As Madison Bumgarner plans for the beginning stages of a throwing regimen that's set to start in Atlanta this weekend, Holland is part of a pitching staff that will be asked to work deeper into games in the coming weeks.
With three road series against teams sporting winning records on the horizon, the adversity in front of the Giants continues to mount. But as the battle scars add up, so too do the series wins.
"We could have got buried with losing Bumgarner and the injuries we've had to deal with," Bochy said. "Johnny's been on the DL twice now. (Hunter) Pence on the DL, so it easily could have got away from us. But they played with a lot of heart."
