SAN DIEGO -- In arguably his best start since signing with San Francisco in 2015, Jeff Samardzija blanked the Padres in a 3-0 victory Monday night at Petco Park, the second shutout by a Giants pitcher this season and the fourth of Samardzija's career.
Two of San Diego's three hits against Samardzija were infield singles, and the Padres wouldn't muster a hit to the outfield until Cory Spangenberg's eighth-inning liner to right. Samardzija struck out five, joining Ty Blach as the only Giants with shutouts this season. It was his ninth career complete game and his first shutout since he joined San Francisco two offseasons ago, and his first since Sept. 21, 2015, with the White Sox.
"I kind of owed these guys one. They got me the last two times out," said Samardzija (9-12), referring to back-to-back starts against San Diego in July when he allowed 12 runs in 10 1/3 innings.
Samardzija not only issued zero walks; he refrained from going to a three-ball count.
"He really was locked in with everything," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had great focus out there with every pitch against a team that's been tough on him."
• Samardzija adds shutout to resurgent season
The Giants jumped on top, 1-0, in the fourth when Brandon Crawford launched his 12th homer of the season. Crawford turned around a full-count sinker from Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin and deposited it into the beach area in right-center field. Joe Panik would tack on a two-run insurance shot in the eighth.

Meanwhile, Chacin continued his bend-but-don't-break month of August. The veteran right-hander has struggled with his command and hasn't pitched into the sixth inning since Aug. 7, a span of four starts. But he's been able to limit the damage, and Monday was no different. He allowed one run on two hits and four walks over five innings.
Chacin threw 92 pitches -- the fifth straight start in which he's used at least 90 pitches before he recorded an out past the fifth inning. In his eyes, that's simply not good enough.
"When you're a starting pitcher, your job is to go six or more innings every time you pitch," Chacin said. "I've been going five innings. ... That doesn't work for me to win games, or the team. I'm going to put too much on the bullpen."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Fair pole: Despite their offensive woes, the Padres remained within a run into the eighth inning. Panik changed that with one loud swing. He crushed a first-pitch fastball off the right-field foul pole, plating Crawford -- who had singled. The three-run advantage was plenty for Samardzija.
"It kind of let everybody take a deep breath," Samardzija said of Panik's longball.

On the ground: The Padres' best chance to score came in the fifth inning, when Yangervis Solarte legged out an infield single to start the frame. He advanced to third on a pair of groundouts, but was stranded there when Spangenberg bounced to second. Solarte was the only Padre to reach scoring position against Samardzija.
QUOTABLE
"I'm sure there's 27-30 teams that qualify themselves as tired right now. That's baseball, just the way it is. You have to grind your way through those days when you're tired. Cross-country trip, you can make whatever excuse you want to make. At the end of the day, you've got to put some runs on the board to win baseball games." -- Padres manager Andy Green, on the offense's struggles from Miami carrying over to Monday's game
WHAT'S NEXT
Giants: Left-hander Matt Moore will get the call for his 27th start of the season in Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. PT matchup against the Padres. He received a no-decision in his only outing against San Diego earlier this season, when he allowed four runs in six innings in a game the Giants won, 5-4, in 12 innings on July 22.
Padres:Luis Perdomo has reeled off seven straight starts of at least six innings and has pleased the Padres with his ability to manage a game. He starts Tuesday in the middle game of this three-game set with the Giants.
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