Giants beat Marlins, clinch a road series. Now, can they start a winning streak?

“I think across the board, we need to play better,” Melvin said. “Whether it’s on the pitching end, whether it’s on the offensive end, we just really haven’t hit our stride yet. We have certain games that look good, but we haven’t sustained it.”

The most-telling metric to Melvin, at least at this juncture, is the Giants’ run differential.

They have been outscored by their opponents 91-79, 12 runs in the hole through their first 19 games.

“Run differential kind of tells you where you are,” he said. “We’re a little down in that.”

Notable

The Giants should get a better sense of when their players on the mend could return when they get back to San Francisco on Thursday.

There, they will consult with Alex Cobb (hip/elbow), Sean Hjelle (elbow) and Luke Jackson (back) about their next steps.

Jackson is “itching to get back,” Melvin said. He threw 20 pitches to hitters in Arizona on Monday and a rehab assignment could be next. He shouldn’t require more than one, unlike Hjelle, who has made three already as the team attempts to stretch him out to cover multiple innings out of the bullpen.

Melvin’s tone changed when asked about Cobb, who threw a bullpen session Monday in Arizona. “He felt OK,” Melvin said. “He’s coming back to San Francisco tomorrow, so we’ll take stock of him tomorrow as well.”

Up next

The Giants’ charter flight is scheduled to land back in San Francisco sometime around 9 p.m. Wednesday — midnight in the time zone where they spent the past week — and they’ll be right back at it following the cross-country trek. Set to host the Diamondbacks for four games, followed by a weekend set against the Mets, the team doesn’t have another off day until next Thursday.

Webb gets the ball in the series opener, though he did not fly back ahead of the team. In fact, he exchanged lineup cards at home plate before first pitch Wednesday. Snell is scheduled to follow him Friday, still seeking his first win in a Giants uniform.

“I like to do that with starting pitchers,” Melvin said of Webb’s pregame duties. “It’s the first day that the lights came on when I asked him. Before, he’s been a little hesitant. He’s 1-0 and he gets to take it out on the day that he pitches, too. Nah, I’m just kidding. He thinks right now that he’s going to. Let’s not tell him that.”