By Morris Phillips

If you’re the offensively anemic San Francisco Giants, hanging around the ballpark until your opponent falls flat on their faces can be an effective strategy.

Trying to neatly pull everything together with five hits and a run over the game’s first seven innings, then add three singles over the final six innings of a 13-inning affair wasn’t going to cut it for San Francisco, but that’s precisely when Mets’ left fielder Dominic Smith ever so politely bumped into shortstop Amed Rosario, allowing Brandon Crawford’s fly ball to drop harmlessly in front of both as Andrew McCutchen crossed the plate with the game’s winning run.

If your the Giants desperately trying to interrupt a four-game losing streak, you’ll take it.

“We had our struggles there in some pretty good situations where we just needed to hit a groundball,” manager Bruce Bochy explained. “We had a hard time. We had a tough time getting the big hit. We got a break and you take it.”

Breaks have all but disappeared for the Giants in August when it comes to scoring runs. The Giants are hitting .229 as a team and have just seven home runs and 59 runs scored in 17 games. Those numbers have dropped the team into the National League’s bottom three in each of those categories. And that lack of production didn’t get a measurable jump on Monday, not even close.

Former Giant Zac Wheeler was simply following the established script when he held the Giants scoreless for the game’s first six innings Monday before allowing a run in the seventh.

Wheeler struck out a season-best 10 batters, and was still throwing gas in the seventh when Alan Hansen’s softly-hit double fell in, scoring Brandon Crawford. But while Hansen’s extra-base hit did the trick, it merely tied the game. With a runner in scoring position, Hunter Pence grounded out to end the inning, leaving the game tied.

Wheeler, having expended 113 pitches, was done for the evening, but the Mets’ bullpen took it from there hanging five more zeros on the scoreboard. The Giants threatened only once in the 11th, but failed when Brandon Belt struck out to end the inning with runners at first and third.

Derek Holland got the start for the Giants, and he was effective, allowing five hits and a run in four innings. Six Giants’ relievers would follow, and all acquitted themselves well, including Tony Watson in the seventh.

In the Mets’ best threat, pinch hitters Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto singled with one out, only to see Rosario ground into an inning-ending double play.

With all three NL West contenders idle, the Giants moved within 7 1/2 games of division-leading Arizona. In between, Arizona and the Giants, the Dodgers and Rockies complicate the Giants situation with 36 games remaining in the season.