OAKLAND -- Hunter Pence provided a timely reminder of his considerable skill with a three-run, sixth-inning homer that sealed the Giants' 10-4 Interleague victory over the Oakland A's.
Timely, because Giants officials will scrutinize Pence and other players even more closely than usual in the season's last two months to determine who fits best on the 2018 roster that will try to lift the ballclub back to respectability.
Reminder, because Pence has done relatively little lately to convince observers that he still can be a premier performer for the Giants, who broke a four-game losing streak Tuesday.
Pence's homer concluded the scoring, gave the Giants a commanding lead and generated what he and the team hope will be a fresh start.
Pence's season has been marred by wild fluctuations. He has remained mostly healthy, enabling him to appear in 86 of the Giants' 108 games.
"I'm passionate to have every at-bat so far," he said.
However, Pence's slash line of .243 /.289/.354 resembles some sort of typographical error when juxtaposed with his name. He has hit eight homers, none at AT&T Park. He batted .310 in June and followed that by posting a .186 average in July.
"At this point I'm trying to give everything I can every at-bat," Pence said. "The results, you can't necessarily control."
But Pence appeared to be in control as he drove the first pitch he saw in the sixth inning from A's reliever Michael Brady over the right-center-field barrier.
"I haven't seen too many balls hit like that on a cold night, to go [opposite field] that well," said Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who spent half of 2014 with the A's.