PHILADELPHIA -- Madison Bumgarner has accomplished quite a bit in his career.

He's a three-time world champion and a World Series MVP, but that doesn't mean the crazy game of baseball can't sneak up and surprise him once in a while.

"It was different, for sure," the left-hander said of the San Francisco Giants' 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

Bumgarner threw eight brilliant innings, although a glance at the box score may suggest otherwise. That's because the 25-year-old allowed four runs to score off one swing of the bat, a grand slam by right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

Thankfully for Bumgarner, his teammates supplied him with a healthy 6-0 lead.

"When our offense jumps out early like that, it gives you an opportunity to go after guys a little bit more, so you can afford to make mistakes like that," Bumgarner said. "Really, there was only one (bad) pitch to Francoeur that came back over the middle."

Other than that and a solo home run to pinch hitter Andres Blanco, Bumgarner (7-2) picked apart Philadelphia, striking out a season-high 11 by throwing 78 strikes in 98 pitches.

"It would have been tough to throw much better," Bumgarner said. "And you find yourself giving up five runs. It just shows how this game is -- it's a crazy game."

The outburst with the bats helped the Giants (32-25) win their second straight game following a five-game skid. San Francisco has won six of its last seven series against Philadelphia (14-7 in 21 games).

Meanwhile, the Phillies (21-36) picked up their 12th loss over the last 15 games and are off to their worst start since 1997 (20-37).

"We need length from our starting pitchers," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "To get length out of the starters, it's very important going forward."

It didn't happen Saturday.

From the onset, San Francisco bombarded right-hander Severino Gonzalez (2-2). The Giants scored six runs on eight hits over the first three frames, forcing the Phillies' rookie to depart after 2 2/3 innings.

But the Phillies still made things interesting despite a 6-0 deficit against a pitcher the caliber of Bumgarner.

In the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases full, Francoeur tagged a 1-0 fastball from Bumgarner into the left-field seats, turning what looked like a long day for Philadelphia into a ballgame.

"I just tried to get ready a little quicker and stay a little taller," Francoeur said of the pitch he hit on the grand slam. "We scored five runs off (Bumgarner). That's tough to do."

But San Francisco's ace did enough to retain the lead as he improved to 35-1 when receiving at least six runs of support.

"Strange game. I mean he threw well," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Hard to believe he gave up five runs the way he threw the ball, but that's what a grand slam will do and of course the other home run. I thought he had great stuff. A hit batsmen, a bloop and a blast and they're right back in the game. But he settled down."

As odd as the game was, maybe the grand slam helped.

"It kind of ticked him off," Bochy said. "He was throwing the ball so well. Ends up giving up four with that grand slam and just seemed like it spurred him a bit and he went out there and threw great after that."

Closer Santiago Casilla did the rest, pitching a scoreless ninth inning for his 17th save.

And Bumgarner took part in the offense, adding two singles and an RBI.

"Good day for Madison," Bochy said.

But not for the Phillies.

Francoeur airmailed a throw over home plate in the first inning, allowing runners to advance, and second baseman Cesar Hernandez committed an error in the seventh inning, which led to an insurance run for the Giants.

"We can't afford against a team like this to make those mistakes,"