NEW YORK — San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy addressed “the elephant in the room.” He called a rare pregame meeting Monday in which he told his players to loosen up, have fun and change up their routines.

Bochy pulled a demonstration before the first pitch was thrown. He and bench coach Ron Wotus drafted left fielder Fred Lewis to present the lineup card to the umpires.
“I told Freddy, ’Now don’t go messing up the ground rules,’ “ Bochy said.
Perhaps Bochy’s agent should start lining up those $25,000 corporate motivational speaking gigs. Coincidence or not, the Giants busted out for a season-high 18 hits, most of them off Livan Hernandez, while taking a much-needed 10-1 victory over the depleted New York Mets at Citi Field.
After splitting four games in Queens, the Giants continue their 11-game trip Tuesday in Cincinnati.
“Guess I’ll be going out there again,” Lewis said, rolling his eyes. “They’re telling me, ’You’ve done started something.’ “
Bochy hoped the whole team received the nudge that gets their rustiest parts moving again. Aaron Rowand, one of their squeakiest wheels, played one of his most complete games as a Giant. He had a rare home run among his four hits while also contributing two outfield assists.
Rowand threw out Cory Sullivan at the plate in the first inning. In the fifth, he raced into the deepest part of right-center field to flag down Daniel Murphy’s drive and started a relay to double off Gary Sheffield.
Rowand entered with an 0-for-14 streak and a .159 average since the All-Star break but said he corrected a hitch in his swing. His solo shot in the fourth inning was his first homer since July 2, a span of 98 at-bats.
His right arm, which ached for weeks after getting hit by a pitch in Atlanta in July, started feeling 100 percent in the past few days. He looked fully armed as he threw out Sullivan with a one-hop throw “” his first straight assist of the season.
Mostly, Rowand listened to his manager’s advice. He had fun.
“We’ve got to stick together as a group, be positive and just let it go,” Rowand said. “Don’t go out there with hesitancy or what-ifs. Let it all hang out. It was a great message and a great time for that message.”
Credit Bochy with a sharp decision during the game, too. He sent up Nate Schierholtz to pinch-hit for Joe Martinez with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning, even though the right-hander had good sink on his fastball and had thrown just 67 pitches.
Schierholtz crushed a two-run double off the fence where it juts deeper in right field. It broke open a 3-1 game and would have been a no-doubt home run in most stadiums, possibly AT& T Park, too.
“I don’t know,” Schierholtz said. “I’m pretty good at hitting fences, though.”
The Giants rolled from there, swatting the softer portion of the Mets bullpen.
After so-so starter Mike Pelfrey dominated the Giants on Sunday, Bochy waited until the team bus wended through midtown traffic and gathered his players. Their 24-34 road record was first on the agenda.
“We’ve got this elephant in the room,” Bochy said. “I do think it’s a stigma. You can believe it or you can shed it, or it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“The numbers are in front of us. It’s our decision, and hopefully we decide how these road trips are going to go.”
If they keep going the right way, Lewis might become a permanent addition to the coaching staff. But there’s an easy way out of his new duty: He could make a last-second edit to the lineup card and scribble his name on it.
“Yeah! That’s a great idea,” Lewis said, laughing in the middle of a happy postgame clubhouse.