MILWAUKEE — The San Francisco Giants’ six-game road trip ended with a seismic event.

Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder lined a home run off Merkin Valdez in the 12th inning for a 2-1 victory Sunday, and when the Brewers’ cleanup hitter slammed both feet on home plate, his teammates theatrically toppled to the ground as if stunned by the shockwave.
The Brewers like to play with a little swagger, and given the long stares from some players and coaches in the visiting dugout, their celebration might have been deemed over the top.
“I don’t know what that was,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “I don’t get concerned with that.”
Bochy had plenty else to stew over. Another game without a clutch hit. Plenty of missed opportunities. More lost ground in the wild card standings. A decision to bunt with cleanup man Juan Uribe that ended with a foul pop. A wasted effort from six pitchers, including six dominant innings from Jonathan Sanchez.
A triple-play grounder from Aaron Rowand, if you can believe it.
And a 3-3 road trip that should have been so much better.
The Giants’ superlative pitching staff held the Phillies and Brewers to nine runs over six games in two hitter-friendly ballparks. That’s the stuff road sweeps are made of.
Yet their destitute offense was 4-for-42 (.095) with runners in scoring position, including 1-for-9 against perfectly average right-hander Braden Looper and five relievers.
As a result, the Giants had to scrape just to break even for the week. Meanwhile, the Colorado Rockies won five of six to grab a two-game advantage in the wild card standings.
The Giants were such prolific out-makers that Rowand gave the Brewers three with one swing. He grounded into an around-the-horn triple play in the sixth inning — the first by a Giant since J.T. Snow on Aug. 5, 1998, at Shea Stadium.
Third baseman Casey McGehee was playing on the line, and Rowand wasn’t blind to the situation.
“I’m thinking, ’run,”’ Rowand said. “Yeah, I knew exactly what was going on. He was playing right there and he got a candy hop right on the bag.”
McGehee stepped on the bag an instant after fielding Rowand’s grounder. He threw to Felipe Lopez, whose relay to first base beat Rowand by a full step.
“It’s the nature of the beast, this game, you know?” Rowand said. “I just missed hitting two home runs. A line drive to third, fly ball to the track and a triple play to top it off. What are you going to do?”
The Giants’ immediate plan is to rebound beginning today at AT&T Park, where their 44-21 record is the best in the NL. They’ll play 16 of their final 25 games at home and they’ll spend the rest of the season in the Pacific time zone.
The wild card winner almost always goes on a winning streak in September, but the Giants haven’t won more than four consecutive all year.
“It comes down to needing a timely hit,” Bochy said. “We couldn’t get one. They played hard the whole road trip. We’re just missing that hit.”
Every time Bochy pokes the fire, he gets an ember in the face.
Prior to the game, reporters asked why he hasn’t looked to sacrifice more often to try to manufacture runs. It’s well known that Bochy doesn’t like to give away outs.
But he bunted with two regulars Sunday. Edgar Renteria fouled off his only attempt after Eugenio Velez led off the game with a double. Pablo Sandoval’s RBI single absolved Renteria’s sins.
The Giants had baserunners in eight of the next nine innings, but they didn’t score again. When the first two batters reached in the 10th, Bochy instructed Uribe, his only hot hitter, to give himself up.
Uribe squared around early and catcher Jason Kendall made a diving catch of a foul pop. Pinch hitter Bengie Molina flied out and Travis Ishikawa struck out.
“You bunt or you don’t bunt, that’s what you get yourself into,” grumbled Bochy, clearly annoyed when asked about the 10th inning. “Juan’s been asked to do it before. He’s gotten it down. We had Bengie and some good hitters lined up there.”
They need to line up a few more.