"Manager Bruce Bochy ran through the Giants' long list of problems after a 5-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday: Tim Lincecum was off his game. The Giants aren't hitting, especially in the clutch. Cody Ross sustained a mild left-hamstring strain and had to leave the game.

Suddenly, Bochy caught himself.

"I don't mean to be Debbie Downer," he said. "We're in first place."

It's easy to forget -- and hard to explain -- but the Giants indeed are two games up in the National League West.

They're doing it despite some troubling trends. They're hitting only .241 as a team after being silenced by Padres starter Clayton Richard and five relievers. And their ace, Lincecum, slipped to 6-7 -- the latest in a season he has been below .500.

Already a disputed All-Star pick, Lincecum did nothing to silence questions about his selection. He struggled against the National League's lowest-scoring offense, giving up three runs in five innings as his fastball hovered in the low 90s on the stadium radar gun.

"I didn't feel I had good rhythm," Lincecum said. "I didn't feel like I had good energy. I felt like I was battling through every pitch. You just try to grind through it. I just didn't grind hard enough."

Bochy said: "I thought he was off today, to be honest. He was kind of searching a bit.""