SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants played their 81st game of the season Friday night, arriving at the halfway point of their 2019 campaign with a 35-46 record after beating the D-backs, 6-3, at Oracle Park.

Alex Dickerson homered and drove in two runs, while Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey added three hits apiece to help back rookie Shaun Anderson, who gave up two runs over 5 2/3 innings. Crawford capped his big night with a notable milestone, doubling for his 1,000th career hit in the sixth inning.

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“Good at-bats throughout the lineup,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We really did some good things there offensively. It’s good to see us put a few runs on the board and take a little pressure off these pitchers.”

That blend of strong pitching and timely hitting is precisely what Bochy said he would like to see more of as his club prepares to enter the second half of the season.

External expectations were relatively low for the Giants heading into the season, but many of the club’s veterans felt they had enough talent to outperform the projections and make a surprise run in Bruce Bochy’s final season as manager. It hasn’t unfolded that way, as a feeble offense and inconsistent rotation quickly sank the Giants to the bottom of the National League West, where they are 19.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers.

“We’re disappointed,” Bochy said. “We look at a lot of these games we think we should have, could have won. A mistake here or there or not quite executing little things, I think, caught up with us in the first half. I’m hoping we can get that turned around. You look at the record, and I really think it should be better than what it is.”

Here’s a look at how the first half played out for the Giants:

What went wrong: The offense proved to be woefully deficient, ranking near the bottom of the Majors in nearly every major category. Entering Friday, the Giants ranked 30th in batting average (.223), on-base percentage (.290) and wRC+ (74). The middle-of-the-order bats haven’t performed as expected, as first baseman Brandon Belt’s .770 OPS currently leads the club’s qualified hitters.

“The offense is not what I thought it would be,” Bochy said. “I still think it’s going to be better. I know that we’re better than what we’ve done in the first half, what’s happened offensively. Trust me, we’ve got to get consistency there. The heart of our order, we haven’t done enough there. Not to put it on those guys, but those are the guys that you count on, to be honest. It’d be nice to see them pick it up.”

Posey answered that call Friday, snapping an 0-for-16 skid with three hits to the opposite field. It marked his first three-hit game of the season and his first multi-RBI game since May 5.

“For the most part, I haven’t felt great, obviously,” said Posey, who is batting .241 with a career-low .673 OPS. “That kind of goes along with what my numbers are. I think a big thing is swinging at good pitches. But if you feel like you’re not in a position that you can get to certain pitches, you tend to chase a little bit more. Hopefully, if I can get into a good position to fire, I’ll be able to swing at better pitches.”

The rotation also encountered adversity. The Giants re-signed Derek Holland and brought in Drew Pomeranz on a one-year deal over the offseason in an attempt to stabilize their starting staff, but Holland was demoted to the bullpen in May and Pomeranz has posted a 6.79 ERA over 14 starts. Dereck Rodriguez, who earned National League Rookie of the Year consideration after logging a 2.81 ERA last year, also regressed and is now being used out of the bullpen.

What went right: Anchored by closer Will Smith and fellow relief aces Tony Watson, Sam Dyson and Reyes Moronta, the bullpen has been the Giants’ strength all season, helping the club go an MLB-best 17-8 in one-run games. Smith gave up a ninth-inning run Friday, but Moronta, Dyson and Watson combined to toss 2 1/3 scoreless frames behind Anderson.

“Our bullpen, what a job they’ve done all year,” Bochy said. “It would be nice to have a lead a bit more often so we can run it out like that.”

Holland and Rodriguez’s struggles opened the door for Tyler Beede and Anderson to get extended looks in the Majors, and the two rookies have taken steps toward developing into long-term rotation pieces for the Giants. Anderson’s progress has been particularly encouraging, as the 24-year-old has logged a 3.86 ERA over nine starts and impressed with his fiery competitiveness on the mound.

“I feel like I’m learning more each outing,” Anderson said. “Throwing the ball lower in the zone and staying away from the middle part of the plate has been a huge factor for me.”

What to expect in the second half: The Giants will be sellers at the non-waiver Trade Deadline, so they will likely look to leverage trade chips such as Madison Bumgarner and Smith into younger talent that can help get the organization back on track after a few rough seasons.

The development of young players such as Beede and Anderson will move more to the forefront, though the Giants will continue to try to identify other pieces who might be able to contribute down the line. They might have found one in Dickerson, who has now reached base safely in each of his eight games since joining the Giants, batting .423 (11-for-26) with a 1.385 OPS, four doubles, one triple, two homers and 12 RBIs.

“We’re seeing a guy that’s getting a chance now and is healthy,” Bochy said. “He’s got a gift.”