SAN FRANCISCO — As Drew Gilbert’s floater to left field dropped softly onto the grass on Monday night, members of his family started to rise. They weren’t alone. 

The Giants prospect got a nice ovation after picking up his first big league hit in the third inning, but he didn’t let any big-picture thoughts creep into his head. Gilbert said afterward that he immediately went into baserunner mode. He didn’t spend much time soaking up the cheers or the applause coming from his dugout. 

“For maybe, like, a second,” he said.

The ovation came a day after Giants fans showered Justin Verlander with love following his 3,500th strikeout. This is a fan base that is desperate for something to cheer for, and once again, the Giants gave them very few reasons to get on their feet. 

Rafael Devers brought some juice with a solo homer, but other than that and the Gilbert single, there was nothing. The Giants lost 4-1 to the San Diego Padres, striking out 10 times while losing for the 11th time in their last 12 games at Oracle Park. 

A team that had eight walk-off wins through June 7 all of a sudden is incapable of bringing life to a ballpark that has seen a notable attendance boost this season. The Giants have scored three total runs in their last three home games and 23 runs over the 1-11 stretch. 

“Giants fans are one of the best and they’ve been showing up for us and we just haven’t been doing a good job,” staff ace Logan Webb said. “We score a run today and tie the game and I go back out for the seventh and the momentum shift — it’s just bad. It’s kind of the way it’s going.”

Webb gave up three runs right after the Devers homer and took that hard, although he probably shouldn’t have. After throwing 219 pitches in his two previous starts, he was sent back out for the seventh with 88 on his line. The inning unraveled quickly, with a Freddy Fermin homer putting the game away.

The Giants always have pushed Webb, and perhaps they felt getting seven strong out of him on Monday was the only way. They certainly weren’t going to win a battle of the bullpens. 

That wasn’t the case in the first half, when they seemingly came back every time they fell behind at home. The deficits are the same, but the comebacks have dried up, and with Monday’s loss, they fell to .500 at Oracle Park this season. 

Manager Bob Melvin was asked about the home skid before the game and said it’s hard to figure out what’s going on. Players have said the same, but they need to put it together quickly. The first half built momentum and attendance surged, but Monday’s crowd of 30,018 was the smallest at Oracle Park since June 13. It was 5,000 less than what the Giants drew two weeks earlier on a Monday night against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates. 

It was an energetic crowd early on, though. At least until the lack of offense sucked the life out of the ballpark. Even Gilbert, who should have been celebrating, found reasons for frustration.

“I know I’m a rookie, but I want to win,” he said. “Hits are awesome, but wins are better.”

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast