SAN DIEGO — For two games and eight innings more, the San Francisco Giants’ hapless offense couldn’t execute even the simplest tasks at Petco Park.

They finally managed a successful hit-and-run in the ninth and Randy Winn’s single pushed them ahead.
But Brian Wilson pushed it right back. The Giants’ struggling closer hit David Eckstein on the elbow with the bases loaded to force in the tying run, and bona fide Giants killer Scott Hairston followed with a walk-off single that sent the San Diego Padres to a 3-2 victory and a three-game sweep Thursday night.
Wilson allowed a fluky infield single to Kevin Kouzmanoff but compounded his problems with two walks before his first pitch hit the peskiest of Padres.
Maybe Wilson should shave the Mohawk. He has allowed at least one baserunner in 14 consecutive appearances and has blown two of his past four save chances, with two more losses in between when he couldn’t preserve ties in the ninth.
One of Wilson’s walks was to Tony Gwynn Jr., who was acquired earlier in the day from the Milwaukee Brewers and received a hero’s welcome as he dug into the box for his pinch appearance.
Before Wilson’s meltdown, the Giants were poised to avoid the sweep. Pablo Sandoval executed a perfect hit-and-run to put runners at the corners and he kept the rally going with an inspired takeout slide. Winn’s single snapped a tie in a game that featured an unexpected pitching battle between Tim Lincecum and former Giant Kevin Correia.
Lincecum didn’t win but appeared rejuvenated on the mound, hitting an easy 95 mph into the seventh inning. He held the Padres to four hits and struck out 10.
The Giants didn’t need any scouting reports for Correia, who seemed to pitch with rain clouds over his head last year as their fifth starter. The Giants were 5-14 in Correia’s starts last year and they outrighted him in October rather than offer a raise through salary arbitration.
Now we know what Correia’s problem was last season. He couldn’t face the Giants.
Correia retired the first nine hitters before Aaron Rowand led off the fourth inning with a single. But even that proved an embarrassing moment for the Giants. Rowand had coasted into first base, apparently assuming the ball was destined for the left-field seats. But it hit near the top of the wall, and Rowand was forced to hold at first base.
It was a crucial mistake. Eugenio Velez hit into a force-out at second base and Sandoval bounced into a double play.
The process repeated itself in the fifth, as Bengie Molina hit a deep drive off nearly the identical spot. Again, because of Molina’s lack of speed, the Giants were left with an impressive single.
Winn hit into a force-out at second base and the Giants didn’t score.
Rowand finally cleared the wall in the sixth, hitting his fourth home run of the season to tie the score.
Jesus Guzman endured some bad luck in his first major league at-bat. He pinch hit for Travis Ishikawa with one out and runners at the corners in the seventh inning and hit a hard grounder up the middle, but pitcher Joe Thatcher got a piece of it and shortstop Chris Burke was able to start a double play.
In Lincecum’s previous start against the Mets, he appeared drained and might have sounded a few alarms while throwing fastballs in the upper 80s. But his first six pitches Thursday were all fastballs clocked between 94-96 mph; he still hit 95 mph in the seventh inning.
The Padres manufactured their run in the third inning after Chris Burke hit an infield single, advanced on Correia’s sacrifice and stole third base. Burke scored when Eckstein punched a two-out single over shortstop Kevin Frandsen’s head.
Lincecum allowed just two more runners to reach second base while recording 10 strikeouts for the third time this season and 14th time in his career.
The defense mostly supported Lincecum, but there were several adventures at first base. Travis Ishikawa was charged with an error when a throw from second baseman Velez handcuffed him in the first inning. Ishikawa atoned in the sixth, spearing Kouzmanoff’s one-hop smash to end the inning and strand a runner.
There was more activity after Guzman replaced Ishikawa and Burke hit a one-out single in the seventh. Lincecum’s pickoff throw was a bit wide and Guzman couldn’t knock it down, allowing Burke to take second base on the pitcher’s error.
Who’d have imagined the Giants’ infield alignment in the late innings? They had Guzman at first, Velez at second base, Frandsen at shortstop and Sandoval at third base.