With Logan Webb sidelined due to a right shoulder strain, the Giants entered Friday’s matchup with the Cubs expecting to patch nine innings together with a bullpen game.

With veteran Jake Arrieta on the mound for Chicago, the Cubs’ plan was much more simple: Get a solid outing from a starter and turn the game over to one of the best group of high-leverage arms in baseball.

Thanks to a six-run second-inning outburst from the Giants offense, Gabe Kapler’s club turned the game into an unexpected battle of the bullpens and emerged with an 8-5 victory.

“We’ve talked about how big innings win baseball games in the major leagues, but it’s not just about the win, it’s also about changing the way bullpens are used,” Kapler said. “We have an opportunity in these types of games to stay away from the opposition’s best bullpen arms and it’s important to put up big numbers in one or two innings.”

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 4: San Francisco Giants’ starting pitcher Scott Kazmir (16) throws against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning of a MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 4, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 

The Giants used six different pitchers and had four different left-handed hitters launch home runs to secure their National League-best 36th win of the year. With leading lefties Mike Yastrzemski, Tommy La Stella and Brandon Belt all on the injured list, the Giants flexed the depth president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris have worked diligently to build.

After starter Scott Kazmir returned from the restricted list and gave up a two-run home run to Cubs slugger Kris Bryant in the first inning, Giants center fielder Steven Duggar answered with a two-run blast of his own to give his club a 3-2 lead against Arrieta.

A Giants offense that’s accustomed to wearing down opposing starters pushed Arrieta into the ropes by forcing him to throw 41 pitches in his second and final inning. Left fielder Alex Dickerson worked a full count against the Cubs right-hander before sending the sixth pitch of his at-bat over the right field wall for a critical three-run home run.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 4: San Francisco Giants’ Steven Duggar (6) connects for a two-run home run off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) in the second inning of a MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 4, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 

“We’ve been stringing together some pretty good at-bats up and down the lineup for quite some time now and in large part, I think that’s what’s responsible for our recent success,” Kapler said.

Cubs outfielder Joc Pederson, a Palo Alto native, made sure the Giants never felt comfortable by drilling a two-run home run to cut a four-run lead in half in the fourth. In the bottom of the frame, rookie Jason Vosler sent the Giants’ league-leading seventh pinch-hit home run of the season out to center field before first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. turned on a Keegan Thompson curveball and yanked the team’s fourth home run of the night over the right field wall.

The Giants’ bullpen certainly wasn’t flawless on Friday, but lefty Conner Menez turned in a pair of outstanding innings and received help from another jaw-dropping defensive play from Brandon Crawford to end the seventh.

Menez tossed a pair of scoreless innings and watched Crawford make a full-extension diving stop to snag a hard-hit grounder from Anthony Rizzo up the middle. After jumping to his feet, Crawford fired a strike to first base and added another highlight-reel play to a 2021 résumé that suggests he’s the best all-around shortstop in baseball right now.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 4: San Francisco Giants’ Jason Vosler 32 rounds the bases on a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs in a MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 4, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 

“He’s an All-Star player,” Dickerson said of Crawford. “He always has been, he’s showing probably his best year ever this year. I don’t know if there’s chatter, it’s something we saw coming, we’re not particularly surprised about it.”

In the eighth inning, lefty Jake McGee was the beneficiary of more excellent Giants defense as Duggar sprinted into the left center field gap to take a potential hit away from Patrick Wisdom before racing into right center field to snag a Pederson line drive.

The Cubs entered the series having won nine of their last 10, but momentum hasn’t mattered for any team but the Giants at Oracle Park this season.

San Francisco is now 17-8 at home this year and a season-high 15 games over .500 after Friday’s win as the Giants continue to defy early expectations, even on nights when they have to rely on relievers and replacements to get the job done.

“It’s the veterans, it’s the guys who have won World Series and have been around for awhile,” Vosler said of the team’s leadership. “They’re really keeping this clubhouse vibrant and full of life.”

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 4: San Francisco Giants’ Steven Duggar (6) catches a Chicago Cubs’ Joc Pederson (24) line drive for an out in the eighth inning of a MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 4, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)