SAN FRANCISCO -- Ryan Vogelsong thought he had experienced it all in his 19-year professional baseball career.

He had no idea.

Enjoying what he labeled the thrill of a lifetime, Vogelsong rode a strong supporting cast and a never-ending source of energy provided by his old fans to a triumphant return to AT&T Park in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 8-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

Gregory Polanco drove in four runs with a home run and a single, center fielder Andrew McCutchen saved two runs with a diving catch, and the Pittsburgh outfield threw out two Giants baserunners, helping Vogelsong win on a night when he was roughed up for four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

"This win was about the other guys in the room," Vogelsong said of his first-year teammates. "I didn't pitch my best. The offense got some runs. I let them back in it ... It's a win next to my name, but it's their win."

The victory was the third in four games in California for the Pirates (60-56), who remained tied in the loss column with the Miami Marlins (62-56) and the St. Louis Cardinals (62-56) in the race for the second National League wild-card playoff spot.

The Giants (66-52) saw their lead in the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers (65-52) trimmed to a half-game.

Vogelsong was facing the Giants for the first time since they chose not to re-sign him as a free agent at the end of the 2015 season. He won 48 games and two World Series championships in five seasons in San Francisco.

His old fans shouted words of encouragement on every pitch of his bullpen warm-up, then gave him two standing ovations -- one before his first pitch of the game, one after his last.

"Well deserved," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the reception. "Vogey pitched a good game."

Added Vogelsong, "You're not expecting a standing 'O' when you run out there the first time. These fans are first-class.

"It was hard to stay locked in and stay appreciative at the same time. It was mentally draining. I was fighting myself: Soak it in, stay focused, soak it in."

Polanco had a two-run single to cap a three-run fourth inning and a two-run homer, his 17th, to increase the Pittsburgh lead to 5-2 in the sixth. That gave Vogelsong (2-2) enough of a cushion to record his first-ever victory over the Giants, against whom he was starting for the first time since 2004.

Vogelsong gave up solo home runs to Eduardo Nunez, his first as a Giant and 13th overall, and Denard Span, his sixth, in the sixth inning before basically having to be dragged off the mound with a 5-4 lead.

"His job is to pitch. It's mine to manage," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who saw Vogelsong waving him back to the dugout shortly after reaching the top step. "I was not going to change my mind."

A pair of subsequent RBI singles by McCutchen and 3 1/3 innings of three-hit, one-run work by four Pirates relievers secured Pittsburgh's fourth consecutive win in San Francisco.

McCutchen's catch helped the bullpen's cause when he raced to his right and made a diving, edge-of-the-grass stab on a Nunez liner with two outs and runners on second and third in the seventh. The Giants trailed 7-4 at the time.

"McCutchen's play is as good a play as I've seen," Hurdle said. "If he doesn't stop that ball, (left fielder Starling) Marte's chasing the ball, and Nunez is chasing for home plate."

Vogelsong faced 28 batters in his 5 2/3 innings, and 13 of them reached base. He stranded seven of the baserunners.

He walked three and struck out one.

"Some moments you want to save," he said. "I've been trying to get prepared for it, and I wasn't close."

Polanco, McCutchen and David Freese had two hits apiece for the Pirates, who spoiled the home debut of left-hander Matt Moore, whom the Giants acquired at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay.

The win was Pittsburgh's eighth straight against a lefty starter.

All eight Pirates position players had at least one hit in the 12-hit attack on five Giants pitchers.

Span and Brandon Belt had three hits each for the Giants, who have lost three of four to start a 10-game homestand.

The Giants are just 9-19 since the All-Star break, the worst record in the majors.

Nunez and Angel Pagan added two hits each, and Panik had two RBIs for San Francisco, which also totaled 12 hits.

"We had some chances. I thought we swung the bat well tonight," Bochy said. "We just couldn't finish up with men on base."

Moore (7-9 overall) fell to 0-2 in three starts for the Giants. He gave up five runs and six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five.

The Giants scored single runs in the first and third innings, and Vogelsong had to consider himself lucky to be down just 2-0 at that point.

After getting his first standing ovation, the veteran proceeded to give up two hits and two walks in the first inning, with the run scoring when he issued a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Panik.

The Giants got a walk and a hit in the second inning, but another threat fizzled when Trevor Brown was thrown out at home plate by Polanco, the right fielder, while trying to score from second on Span's single.

A double by Belt and single by Hunter Pence made it 2-0 in the third, but again the Pittsburgh outfield bailed out Vogelsong.

A strong throw toward the plate by left fielder Marte on a double by Nunez got Pence to change his mind about trying to score from first. Pence then was gunned down returning to third base on a relay throw from first baseman Freese.

NOTES: The win was the Pirates' 20th in 31 games against the National League West this season. ... Pirates LF Starling Marte leads the NL with 14 outfield assists. ... Giants C Buster Posey (sore lower back) was not in the starting lineup for the second day in a row. ... The Giants' highlight of the game came on defense, when RF Hunter Pence rushed into foul territory, tripped over the bullpen mound and still managed to catch 3B Josh Harrison's fly ball while on his back. ... The Giants have lost the first game in nine of their 10 series since the All-Star break.