SAN FRANCISCO >> The Tigers, players and coaches, aren’t looking for excuses or pity.

But let’s be real about what’s going on here. Four veteran players were traded at the deadline. Vital pieces of the puzzle — Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, now Wenceel Perez, and, for the last two days, Matt Vierling — are out with injuries.

The Tigers have two healthy starting pitchers and have been rolling with a series of openers and bullpen days to fill out the rotation. They started a lineup of nine players Saturday, all but rookie Colt Keith spent time in Triple-A Toledo this season.

And, even with a third straight loss Saturday, 3-1 to the Wild Card-chasing Giants, they’ve continued to play competitive baseball games.

“It’s just getting your mindset around reality,” manager AJ Hinch said, as his team fell to eight games under .500 (55-63). “It doesn’t matter what we think about it, whether we’re upset or frustrated. Because we’re still going to look up and see those guys on the injured list. It is what it is.”The club put Perez on the injured list with an oblique strain Saturday. The rest of his rookie season is in jeopardy. Vierling has taken treatment the last three days for back spasms.

Akil Baddoo was awakened at 1 a.m. in Detroit and managed to get across the country in time to start and bat leadoff against the Giants in a 1:05 Pacific time matinee.

“A lot of different-looking lineups,” Hinch said. “We have guys who are missing. They will get their way back. This is part of it and it’s our reality. We don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it. We’re trying to squeeze as much as we can out of these guys.

“The more time we spend pouting about it and being frustrated about it, it’s just counterproductive.”

The Giants, who celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the 2014 World Series championship, flipped the game in a span of six pitches Saturday.

Opener Alex Faedo walked the bases loaded but got out of a 31-pitch first inning unscathed. Rookie lefty Brant Hurter entered, his second big-league appearance, and got nine straight outs.

The Giants, held without a hit into the sixth inning Friday, were hitless before lefty-swinging Mike Yastrzemski hit a first-pitch single to lead off the fifth. Jerar Encarnacion singled and then lefty-swinging Brett Wisely hit another first pitch from Hurter, a two-run double inside the bag at first.

Wisely scored on a one-out single by Heliot Ramos.

Hurter, though, stayed in the fight. He cleared five innings, allowing the three runs and four hits with five strikeouts.

The three runs were plenty for Giants starter Logan Webb.

He allowed just four hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts.

One of the hits was a triple to right-center by Parker Meadows with one out in the fifth inning. The Giants brought their infield in and Dillon Dingler hit a two-hopper right at shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, who fielded it clean and made a good throw to the plate.

Meadows, though, simply outran the throw to the plate, sliding in well ahead of the tag.

The Tigers had one other quality scoring chance against Webb. Justyn-Henry Malloy doubled and Gio Urshela walked with two outs in the sixth. Bligh Madris, a left-handed hitter, flared one toward short left field but third baseman Matt Chapman made a sensational leaping catch.

Meadows singled in the ninth against reliever Ryan Walker and the Tigers had the tying runs on base. But nothing came of it. Four runners in scoring position, total. Not much. Not nearly enough.

“It sucks,” Hinch said. “And I feel for the players. But it’ll get better.”