SAN FRANCISCO -- A miserable August may have cost the Giants a chance at making a serious run down the stretch, but they¡¯re still determined to finish the year strong. Friday was certainly a step in the right direction.

The Giants opened their September slate with a 13-1 rout of the Phillies at Oracle Park, bringing an emphatic end to their seven-game losing streak.

After scoring only 18 runs during their recent skid, the Giants¡¯ bats finally broke out against Phillies right-hander Kyle Gibson, who was torched for seven runs over 1 2/3 innings in his shortest start of the year. San Francisco built a commanding 11-0 lead by the end of the third inning, with Joc Pederson leading the way by going 2-for-2 with a home run and five RBIs.

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LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski also chipped in with multi-hit efforts to back a sensational start from right-hander Alex Cobb, who allowed only three hits over seven shutout innings.

¡°This is the type of team we¡¯re capable of being,¡± Cobb said. ¡°It¡¯s been a frustrating year, not living up to that standard, I think. It is nice to see, whatever happens throughout the course of the season, to keep going out there and playing like that with the desire to win the game, no matter what.¡±

Here are three takeaways from Friday night¡¯s blowout win.

1. Cobb¡¯s gem

Cobb recorded a 5.73 ERA through his first eight starts of the season, though those numbers were misleading, as the 34-year-old veteran was often hamstrung by bad luck and poor defense. But his results are finally starting to match the quality of his stuff. Since coming off the injured list on June 19, Cobb has posted a 2.58 ERA over 80 1/3 innings with 75 strikeouts and 22 walks, lowering his ERA from 5.62 to 3.58 over that span.

Cobb needed only 88 pitches to get through seven innings against the Phillies, using his sinker-splitter combination to induce 10 of his 11 swinging strikes.

¡°It¡¯s not surprising,¡± manager Gabe Kapler said. ¡°One of the things we¡¯ve said all year long is he¡¯s a guy who¡¯s going to get the ball on the ground. If we¡¯re able to convert those into outs, he¡¯s going to be an excellent Major League pitcher. He¡¯s been good beneath the surface all season long. On a night like tonight, he was good above the surface, which was kind of cool.¡±

2. Joc stays hot

It¡¯s been a streaky season for Pederson, who earned his second career All-Star nod with a monster first half, but then cooled significantly after the All-Star break. Still, the 30-year-old slugger is beginning to heat up again, especially now that he¡¯s regained his power stroke.

After opening the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning, Pederson broke the game open with a three-run shot off Gibson that stretched the Giants¡¯ lead to 7-0 in the second. Pederson¡¯s team-leading 21st home run of the year cleared the right-field arcade and landed in McCovey Cove, giving him his second splash hit in his last three games.

Pederson is now 11-for-20 (.550) with three home runs and 11 RBIs over his seven-game hitting streak, bringing much-needed firepower to an offense that ranked 27th in the Majors with 97 runs during the club¡¯s 10-17 August. The Palo Alto, Calif., native will be eligible for free agency at the end of the year, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently expressed interest in bringing Pederson back next season.

¡°We¡¯ve talked some to his representatives, I¡¯ve talked to Joc about it,¡± Zaidi told KNBR on Thursday. ¡°He¡¯s from here, he¡¯s played well, he was an All-Star for us. And we¡¯ve got two and a half homestands left, our fans, we¡¯ve got people coming to games to watch Joc Pederson swinging the bat.

¡°We¡¯d just love to have him back, and we¡¯d love to see him finish the season strong in our uniform and hopefully he can be back next year.¡±

3. Brinson debuts

With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 players on Thursday, the Giants decided to call up recently acquired outfielder Lewis Brinson, who came over from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations earlier this week. Once viewed as one of the top prospects in baseball, Brinson has struggled to establish himself in the Majors, but he had been enjoying a nice season at Triple-A Sugar Land, where he hit .299 with a .930 OPS and 22 homers over 85 games this season.

Brinson, 28, will be among the young players who figure to get extended looks with the Giants over the final month of the regular season. The right-handed hitter made his San Francisco debut by pinch-hitting for Pederson against lefty Cristopher S¨¢nchez in the fifth, reaching on a flare to center field before scoring on Thairo Estrada¡¯s RBI single.

¡°He has a chance to reestablish himself as a Major League caliber talent,¡± Kapler said. ¡°In a perfect world, he gets off and kind of affirms the industry¡¯s belief in him over a long period of time for being an elite-level athlete and a guy that can change the game with that athleticism.¡±