SAN DIEGO -- Tyler Beede proved he can strike out Major League hitters. Sustaining a thorough effort against them must wait for another time, as the Giants' 10-1 loss Sunday to the Padres demonstrated.
The Padres treated Beede like the novice he was, scoring five runs off him in 3 2/3 innings. Three of the six hits he yielded were doubles. A two-out walk he issued in the third inning generated a pair of Padres runs. The right-hander did amass six strikeouts, which gave him something positive to cling to.
"My stuff plays," said Beede, the Giants' No. 1 selection in the 2014 Draft. "It's just a matter of being more polished later in the count."
Not surprisingly, Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced after the club's third straight defeat that Beede would be optioned back down to Triple-A Sacramento. There, he can continue his development and gain more of an understanding of what he tried to do in two starts with the Giants. Besides, Johnny Cueto will rejoin the starting rotation Tuesday and Jeff Samardzija will shortly follow. The Giants have no need for Beede right now, especially in his current state.
Bochy said Beede will focus on the bookends of pitching: getting ahead of hitters more frequently in the count, and then putting them away. This is particularly a must with runners on base.
"That's when you have to make your pitches," Bochy said. "We were living in the heart of the plate. That doesn't work."
Not much worked for Beede. Christian Villanueva doubled home two runs in the third inning before Jose Pirela and Freddy Galvis drilled consecutive run-scoring hits in the fourth, finishing Beede -- but only temporarily.

"I have a lot of confidence coming out of these two starts," Beede said. "It's just a matter of going down there and refining some things."
Other aspects of the Giants' performance looked troubling.
Left-hander Josh Osich, who looked so promising as the season began, allowed two runs and three hits while walking one in 1 2/3 innings. His ERA ballooned to 6.14.
San Francisco's erratic offense mustered seven hits and scored only in the second inning off Padres starter Joey Lucchesi. Nick Hundley singled, moved to third base on Evan Longoria's single and scored on Brandon Belt's sacrifice fly.

The Giants lost three games in this four-game series as their fortunes at Petco Park continued to plummet. In their last six series here, the Giants have lost five and split one.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
A prime example of how Beede can tighten up his game occurred with two outs in the third inning and the Giants leading, 1-0. Beede walked Galvis, leaving the door open for the Padres. Franchy Cordero singled, setting up Villanueva's two-run double.

SOUND SMART
Everything in the Giants-Padres season series changed in 2016, at least in terms of games played in San Diego. San Francisco swept the Padres in a three-game series May 17-19, and since then, the Giants have struggled at Petco Park, losing 20 of 25 games.
UP NEXT
Following Monday's scheduled off-day, the Giants will confront the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series beginning Tuesday at Phoenix's Chase Field. Cueto is expected to leave the disabled list to face left-hander Patrick Corbin.