PHILADELPHIA — The Giants probably will spend more money on sod and fertilizer than they’ll tender Brad Penny for his services this season.

Boy, did they ever hit paydirt Wednesday night.
Penny’s debut was a brilliant success and Juan Uribe, another player acquired on the cheap, supplied most of the offense in a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Penny (1-0) far surpassed manager Bruce Bochy’s expectation of five relatively clean innings. The burly right-hander held the Phillies to five hits over eight shutout innings, disarming the NL’s best lineup with a 96 mph fastball and a mix of changeups, curves and splits. And he kept the Giants within a game of the wild-card leading Colorado Rockies.
Not bad for someone who’ll cost the Giants a prorated share of the major league minimum salary — less than $100,000.
“Oh, it’s a huge lift for the club. He gave us more than we thought,” Bochy said. “He had great stuff and maintained it. . . . He’s a horse out there. We kept checking on him and he kept saying, ’Hey, I feel great.”’
The Giants have held the defending World Series champions to one run in two games — and that’s with their Nos. 4 and 5 starters on the mound. They’ll go for a series victory behind Tim Lincecum on Thursday.
“You get in a five-game series with the pitching these guys have?” said Penny, crinkling his brow. “You’ve got a good chance to win. This team will be real dangerous, and people won’t want to play ’em if they get in the playoffs.”
That’s a major reason Penny signed with the Giants on Monday after clearing release waivers from the Boston Red Sox, where he compiled a 7-8 record and 5.61 ERA in 24 starts. The Yankees pounded him for eight runs in his final outing Aug. 21, but the Giants hoped Penny would thrive in the familiarity of the National League — and its tamer lineups wouldn’t hurt, either.
It made no difference that his first start came in a park known to grind pitchers until they’re fit to stuff a hoagie roll.
Penny flashed 97 mph on the radar gun in the first inning and still cranked it up to 94 in the eighth. He didn’t miss many bats, striking out just two, and said he got away with some fastball location mistakes. But he usually worked ahead in the count and credited catcher Eli Whiteside for calling a shrewd game.
In fact, Penny piled on the praise for Whiteside.
“There’s not a guy who’s called a better game for me in my career,” said Penny, who has thrown to Jason Varitek, Ivan Rodriguez and Russell Martin, among others. “I didn’t have to shake a whole lot. It’s pretty impressive.”
Whiteside studied video of Penny’s Aug. 5 start against Tampa Bay and noticed he was throwing a lot of fastballs. He decided to try more early-count curves and called for splitters when he hoped for double-play grounders. He got two of them.
“You know, I’m not the one throwing the ball,” said Whiteside, “so he had a little part in it, too.”
The Giants lead the majors with 18 shutouts and are two away from matching the San Francisco era record set in 1968. They’re responsible for two of the Phillies’ five shutout losses this season.
Uribe, who signed as a minor league free agent in late January, reached base in all four plate appearances and hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
“I knew he was going to make the team and be a big part of this team,” said Aaron Rowand, who followed Uribe’s homer with a solo shot. “Even early on when he wasn’t playing much, I knew he’d get his chance and do what he’s capable of doing.”
Rowand’s homer was the Giants’ 96th of the season. They surpassed last year’s total of 94, which was the lowest by a major league club in a 162-game season since the expansion Florida Marlins in 1993.

Pablo Sandoval returned to the Giants lineup but was 0-for-4 and appeared to struggle with his strained right calf. Sandoval limped after fouling off a pitch in the eighth inning, and he didn’t run out a ground ball.
Ryan Rohlinger replaced him at third base in the bottom of the inning and Sandoval wore a walking boot after the game. But Bochy wasn’t overly concerned.
“I know he’s not 100 percent, but he’s giving us all he’s got,” Bochy said. “I don’t think there were any setbacks.”