SAN FRANCISCO -- The Phillies’ euphoria over their rejuvenated offense dissolved Saturday, when they collected exactly three hits in a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

The Phils mustered two hits off Giants starter Jeff Samardzija, who owned a 4.85 ERA against them in their previous five meetings. Typically a victim of his elevated pitch counts, Samardzija was efficient enough against Philadelphia to work eight innings, reaching that distance for only the second time in 24 starts this season.

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After generating a pair of four-run innings in Friday’s 9-6 victory over the Giants, the Phillies’ scoring consisted of Corey Dickerson’s first-inning homer. With a left-hander, Conner Menez, starting Sunday for San Francisco, expect Phillies manager Gabe Kapler to alter his batting order once again. As a result, Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins probably won’t continue to occupy the leadoff and No. 2 spots, respectively.

Kapler repeated his polite-yet-pointed call for more offense. “We’ve all read the four-run stat,” he said, referring to his club’s 52-15 record when it scores at least four runs. “We have to find a way to get to that magic number more frequently.”

That number seemed like an attainable goal in the wake of Friday’s output. But not with Samardzija (9-9) pitching at close to peak effectiveness -- as was the case on July 31, when he blanked the Phillies on three hits over six innings.

“We can do a better job of carrying last night’s momentum into today,” Kapler said. “But at the same time, I think it’s professional and accurate to give the opposing starter some credit, and Samardzija has been really good against us for two straight outings.”

Comprehending Samardzija’s primary deliveries was simple. Connecting with them was entirely another matter.

“He has a fastball-cutter combination; it’s difficult to pick up which is which,” Kapler said. “And he does a good job of changing eye levels.”

Harper typified the Phillies’ struggles. After homering twice Friday, he went 0-for-4 on Saturday and concluded his afternoon by striking out in the ninth inning against Giants closer Will Smith while representing the tying run.

Echoing Kapler, Harper said of Samardzija, "I thought he came at us pretty well with the backdoor cutter, things like that."

Saturday actually began the way Friday developed, as Dickerson opened the scoring with his third home run since joining the Phillies on July 31. But Philadelphia starter Vince Velasquez (4-7) lacked his best stuff and surrendered home runs to Evan Longoria in the second inning and Kevin Pillar in the fifth.

Velasquez still performed his most basic task by keeping the score close.

“It was one of those days where you’re kind of dealing with adversity and you’re trying to find something that works,” Velasquez said. “You’re going to have outings like this where things are not going to go your way. You’re not going to feel great. You’re not going to have a lot of life on your fastball. It’s a matter of finding ways of getting outs.”

Velasquez observed that his flaws partially might have been caused by drifting “east to west” in his delivery. Meanwhile, striving to keep pace in the National League Wild Card race, the Phillies are doing all they can to avoid heading south.