By Morris Phillips

The day after being swept by the Dodgers, the Giants were swept up by the Pirates’ Vance Worley.

Bad offensive baseball by the Bay continued for the home team as the Giants waited until the fifth inning for their first hit from Pablo Sandoval and until two were out in the ninth inning for their first extra-base hit—a triple from Hunter Pence.

Other than those two moments, Worley was in control and the usual sellout crowd sat on its collective hands once again. The Giants have dropped 20 of 26 home games in a stretch that has seen them blow a nine-game lead in the NL West and now trail the Dodgers by a season-worst two games.

“We got off to a good start after the All-Star Break and we got into this rut again,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Only thing we can do is toughen up and come out here and grind it out.”

As moribund and lifeless as the Giants have been over the last six weeks, they maintain one of the five best records in the National League and on pace to earn a wild card playoff berth with 56 games remaining. But their current, awful level of play combined with the numerous, injured front liners would seem to preclude the possibility of baseball in mid-October.

On Monday, the Giants fell into an immediate hole as starter Madison Bumgarner allowed four runs in the first inning. Bumgarner threw 42 pitches in the inning, allowed three hits and committed one of two damaging errors when he threw wildly to second base trying to pickoff speedy Andrew McCutchen. For a team that has scored just four runs in its last four games, the inning was a killer.

“He was out of his normal rhythm and had trouble hitting his spots, stuff was a little flat and they took advantage of it,” Bochy said of Bumgarner’s opening act.

Meanwhile, Pirates’ starter Worley was having a career night, pitching his first shutout in his 62nd career start. It was the second time Worley had gone the distance in a major league game, having done it against the Giants almost exactly three years ago. Worley worked fast, threw strikes and watched his defense behind him make some highlight plays. The Pirates threw out Gregor Blanco trying to steal second base, turned two double plays and saw Neil Walker make a nifty turning, falling pivot on the first one.

And Worley couldn’t have picked a better night to be flawless, with more than 30 friends and family down from Sacramento where he starred at McClatchy High School.

“The command is what’s showing up,” Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle said of Worley. “When he’s been good throughout his career he works quick, he throws strikes with downward angle on his fastball. The cutter plays for him, all of it, just the ‘on’ and ‘off.’”

The Giants attempt another bounce back on Tuesday when Tim Hudson faces Pittsburgh’s Francisco Liriano.