SAN FRANCISCO -- Nobody will ever know whether San Francisco 11, Oakland 2 was an indication of what could have been for the Giants this season. But Jarrett Parker has the opportunity to turn Thursday night into a sign of what could be.
Appearing in his first Major League game since April 15, when he fractured his right clavicle in a collision with the left-field wall while pursuing a line drive by Colorado's DJ LeMahieu, Parker resembled a latter-day Will Clark. Parker sprayed line drives to all fields in a 3-for-4, three-RBI performance to help the Giants record a rare lopsided victory.
After missing 96 games, Parker derived his satisfaction simply by, as he said, "being a part of it again."
Parker added, "I've never had an injury this significant before, so I've never missed a significant portion of the season. ... It was just great to get back on the field and help."
Giants manager Bruce Bochy certainly appreciated Parker's presence. The 28-year-old, who's expected to play frequently as the Giants search for players to provide hope for the future, lashed a two-run, opposite-field double to left-center in the first inning, pulled an RBI double to right in the fifth and singled to right-center in the seventh.

This was not the version of Parker who the Giants saw earlier this year. Named the Opening Day left fielder, he quickly lost that status after hitting .143 (3-for-21) with 10 strikeouts.
"He brings an added dimension as far as power, something we've been missing," Bochy said. "But what I liked tonight was the double to left-center. He wasn't trying to hit the ball out. That's something that's going to have to be a big part of his game. He can't be all-in on just trying to hit home runs. We want him to use the whole field like that."
Coincidentally, Parker is 11-for-21 (.524) with seven extra-base hits against the A's. He's batting .222 against everybody else.
A's manager Bob Melvin remarked, "Yeah, I look at his numbers and I'm going, 'How?' We obviously need to change our scouting report on him or make better pitches."
Parker had no explanation for his success against the A's.
"It just works out that way sometimes," Parker said.
Everything also worked out for third baseman Ryder Jones. Like Parker, Jones struggled in a cameo appearance with the Giants earlier this year, mustering one hit in 21 at-bats before he was sidelined by a bruised right wrist. On Thursday, Jones singled sharply in his first two plate appearances for the Giants since July 1 at Pittsburgh.

"He was up here earlier and didn't have a lot of success," Bochy said of Jones. "I thought that was big for him, to get a base hit in his first time up."