Rookie Anderson delivers in S.F.’s win

On June 12, in their 33rd game at Oracle Park, the Giants finally scored their 100th run at home. That’s barely more than three runs a game, which is not good. Even the 98-loss team two years ago averaged 3.9.

That explains the Giants’ homely record at Oracle, 13-20 even after they swept their two games against the Padres, including Wednesday night’s 4-2 victory.

Every Giants pitcher in the past decade, even longer, has known they would have to harvest victories at home the hard way, throwing well enough to take down the oneand two-run games.

When a rookie pitcher knows it’s going to be that way and still frees his mind from the unhelpful notion that he needs to be near perfect to win, everyone from the fans to the front office needs to pay rapt attention.

Shaun Anderson’s second big-league win was much tougher than his first in Baltimore, when the Giants handed him a 7-1 lead by the fifth inning. In his first home win, Anderson held a good San Diego lineup to two runs in six innings and joined Madison Bumgarner as the only starters on the staff this year to pitch at least six innings three times in a row.

“It’s good to see the kid get on a roll like that,” said manager Bruce Bochy, who had a telling moment in the fifth inning when he let Anderson bat for himself down a run with one out and Steven Duggar on second base.

That was partly not having a good right-handed option on the bench against lefty Joey Lucchesi, but also the trust Anderson has earned at the relatively tender age of 24 and six big-league starts behind him.

Anderson knows he is going to give up runs. The trick, especially at China Basin, is staying away from those killer rallies.

“Honestly, I try to avoid crooked numbers,” he said. “If I give up one run, I make sure I don’t give up two runs. That goes the same whether we score a lot of runs or not. Limiting the damage for me is the most important thing.”

To get Anderson the win, the Giants used the time-tested formula of Duggar’s legs, San Diego’s sloppiness and Donovan Solano’s bat to fuel two rallies that produced the final three runs.

Solano enjoyed his second two-hit game in a row, as the leadoff hitter, and drove in Duggar twice with a single and double. Solano started for just the eighth time this year.

Kevin Pillar homered and Evan Longoria contributed an RBI hit.

Duggar’s speed and two San Diego errors helped the Giants forge ahead 3-2 in the fifth after the Padres took a 2-1 lead in the top half on a walk, a daring first-to-third dash from Manuel Margot on an infield out and Josh Naylor’s scoring groundball.

Duggar reached on an infield single and advanced on a throw that rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. had no business making. The error allowed Duggar to score on Solano’s two-out bloop single to left.

When Naylor’s throw to the infield bounced past everyone and went out of play, Solano was allowed to take third on the two-base error, which in turn let him score for a 3-2 Giants lead on Longoria’s infield hit.

The Giants expanded their lead to 4-2 in the seventh after Duggar dribbled an infield hit to the left of pitcher Robbie Erlin, who sailed his throw past the visiting bullpen.

Duggar took second and scored easily on Solano’s double into the left-field corner.

Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Will Smith each followed Anderson with a shutout inning as Smith earned his 16th save. Smith had to work for it. The Padres loaded the bases with two outs before he got Margot to pop out.

Smith threw 25 pitches, matching his high for any save this year.

Buster Posey returned from his hamstring injury, caught all nine and singled in four atbats.