SAN DIEGO -- Madison Bumgarner delivered a typical performance Saturday night, though he couldn't avoid a losing decision.
Bumgarner allowed the San Diego Padres to score in each of the first two innings before blanking them afterward. Yet the rest of the Giants remained mostly stymied, resulting in a 2-1 loss to San Diego at Petco Park.
The Giants slipped to 1-5, matching their worst six-game record since the franchise moved west in 1958. They encountered this predicament in four previous seasons: 1967, 1980, 2007 -- Bruce Bochy's first year as the Giants' manager -- and 2008. Only in '67 did they recover to finish above .500.
A sensible analysis would indicate the Giants are far from doomed. Their lineup Saturday included seven All-Stars of recent vintage.
Asked to cite reasons for optimism, however fleeting, that he has seen from the ballclub's performance, Bumgarner responded with resolute pride.
"Well, we're the San Francisco Giants. That's all the optimism I need," Bumgarner said. "I know what kind of organization that I work for and their goals. That's all I need to know there."
Bumgarner himself represented that standard of excellence to Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin, who blanked San Francisco on three hits through 6 1/3 innings.
"To beat somebody like Bumgarner, you know you have to not make mistakes," Chacin said.
In fact, Bumgarner avoided significant lapses after the second inning. He proceeded to record his 15th career complete game -- and his sixth in which he absorbed the defeat. The Giants mustered three runs in those losses.
They didn't score until the very end of Saturday's contest. Buster Posey singled with two outs, advanced to second base unchallenged and scored on Brandon Crawford's single. Up came Eduardo Nunez, who flied out to left field on the first pitch he saw from left-hander Ryan Buchter.
"Noonie took a good swing," Bochy said. "He just got under it. That's all you can ask."

Bumgarner sounded almost philosophical about being edged by a team that's markedly younger than the Giants. San Diego's lineup included three rookies and two players who possess between one and two years of Major League service time. One of the rookies, Manuel Margot, doomed the Giants for the second game in a row by doubling in each of the first two innings to account for the Padres' scoring.
"You can play a low-A team and get our butts handed to us," Bumgarner said. "You never know what's going to happen. That's why you got to play the game. I don't know if any loss hurts worse than any other. They all count the same, no matter how you got there."