Two wins in a row? Hey, stuff happens

The view is much better from the top.

San Francisco did the bulk of its damage late, breaking a 1-1 tie with two in the seventh before dropping a five-spot in the eighth to turn a nail-biter into a laugher, topping the Mets 8-1 Friday at AT&T Park.

Pence face plants to to take away extra bases. (CSN Bay Area)

The Giants knew early on that a win could put them back atop the NL West, Cincinnati gave the front running Dodgers a 9-2 spanking earlier in the evening, and in a month filled with missed opportunities the Giants didn't waste this one.

For the second straight night the bats were lively. Pounding out 15 hits and taking advantage of a pair of errors to get Johnny Cueto his 14th win. Seth Lugo, making his first start for the Mets, pitched well but got an understanding of how Giants starters have felt for much of the year as his bullpen imploded like an aging Las Vegas casino.

San Francisco won consecutive games for just the second time since the All-Star Break and assured themselves of a non-losing series for just the third time in that span. With 40 games to play and a critical three-gamer at LA looming, the Giants bats may be heating up at just the right time. 

Cueto didn't look sharp early on but managed to shimmy his way out of trouble for much of the night. The lone blemish came in the second when Curtis Granderson went splish-splash into McCovey Cove. It was the fifth soggy Spalding of the year, the third by an opponent, and it gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Eduardo Nunez eats some dirt. (CSN Bay Area)

The Giants answered in classic "Get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" style. Joe Panik's sinking liner to right started the third, Cueto sacrificed, and Denard Span singled past second to plate the equalizer on an aggressive send by third base coach Roberto Kelly versus the strong arm of Jay Bruce.

The fifth inning was laughable. Literally. We're talking name-on-the-marquee-at-HaHa's laughable. A pair of soft singles set up a two-out threat for New York, and Kelly Johnson's single to right looked to be the tiebreaker. Lugo, running for second, got a late break and was held. At least he was supposed to have been held.

Lugo blew the stop sign and found Pence's throw waiting for him at the plate. He dropped the trailer and hit reverse as the calliope tuned up for a inning-ending 9-2-6-2-5-3 rundown, just like to see every day. Add a nine to that and we believe you dial Tommy Tutone and someone named Jenny.

Pence figured into more hilarity in the bottom of the stanza, duck snorting a double to short center as Granderson idly watched shortstop Asdrubal Cabrerra twist and dive for the wind-blown popup. Of course, the Giants gave the gift right back as Pence broke hard for the plate on an Eduardo Nunez line drive that Granderson caught easily. That's a double play; something to be avoided when possible.

Cueto went seven, scattering eight hits (2K, 0BB) and he got some help in his final frame. Pence dove into triples alley to take extra bases away from Cabrerra, and Nunez made a backhanded stab of a bullet down the third base line to rob Rene Rivera. We like leather. Wait, that came out wrong.

Sticking with the down-and-dirty theme as Panik slides home. (Getty Images)

Thus inspired, the Guants grabbed the lead. Lugo went an out short of seven innings but a two-out Nunez double sent him packing. Panik was walked to bring up Cueto's spot, and pinch hitter Ehire Adrianza got a shot at reliever Jerry Blevins. 

Blevins is the Mets' designated rally killer, having allowed just four of 43 inherited runners to score. Adrianza burned him, spanking a single to right, and the Giants challenged Bruce again. Nunez beat the throw with a head-first dive and the Giants led 2-1.

They'd add on. Denard Span cued his third hit of the night through the left side, scoring Panik. It was the second consecutive three-hit game for Span (he'd get four) who is showing signs of life in what has to date been a disappointing season.

Clear sailing the rest of the way, right? Not these Giants. Hunter Strickland got a quick out to start the eighth but Crawford had a ball go under his glove and Belt fired an ill-advised throw into a baserunner to put the tying runs on. But Javy Lopez came on to give Belt a shot at redemption, inducing a bouncer to initiate a 3-6-1 twin killing.

Someone needs to explain this "adding on" thing. It's new, but we like it. Three singles, two pitchers and a Nunez groundout made it 4-1 and the Giants managed to get some throws out of Mets closer Jeurys Familia as a bonus. That should have been it, but a grounder to short saw Cabrerra throw a hand grenade at the feet of first baseman James Loney and two more crossed the plate.

Now 6-1 looked pretty good; 8-1 was better. Pinch hitter Conor Gillaspie greeted Erik Goedell by ripping a hanging curve into the arcade. The Mets mounted a threat in the ninth against Geoge Kontos but another base running misadventure saw Yoenis Cespedes caught off third base and the Giants cruised home.

After combining for 30 hits the night before, the squad put up another 26 on Friday including 15 from the Orange and Black.Span's four hits led the way while Pagan, Belt and Pence had two each. Pagan;s safeties extended his hitting streak to 17 games; one short of his career high.

The Giants will attempt to do the  unthinkable on Saturday and actually win a series. Matt Moore (7-9, 4.14 ERA) takes his fourth try at his first win as a Giant against the Human Weeble, Bartolon Colon (10-7, 3.38).

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