In case you were still wondering, the Giants’ 2-1 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday might have confirmed a long-standing suspicion: San Francisco just can’t hit much.

The Giants managed only six hits during the torturous pitching duel, and never really threatened to break out. In recent weeks, their main problem has been the inability to come up with the clutch hit with runners in scoring position; this wasn’t the case Tuesday. They were only 0-1 with runners on second or third. They just never really had a shot.

As to which is more troubling, going 0-1 with runners in scoring position or 1-8 in similar situations as they did during Monday’s laugher of a loss at Dodger Stadium, I’ll leave that up to you.

Either way, result is the same. In order to win ballgames right now, the Giants have got to keep it close. Over the past two years, they’ve been able to do this with a combination of historic pitching performances and great defense.

Obligatory comments regarding Timmy’s horrible start aside, the gloves haven’t been there this season, which is a big reason why Tuesday’s win only brought the team back to .500 on the year.

As of the end of play Tuesday, the Giants find themselves at the wrong end of two very important lists for teams who depend on winning a lot of 2-1 games. They’re last in the league in fielding percentage, and first in the league in total errors committed, with 33. This is in stark contrast to their performance during the World Series year of 2010, when they were among the league’s best teams in the field, ranking first in fielding percentage  and committing only 73 errors total.

Being almost half way to an entire season’s worth of errors in the beginning of May doesn’t exactly bode well.

They are also fifth from last in total double plays turned, with just 22 in 30 games played. This translates to a lack of execution on the defensive side of the ball.

Tuesday’s game was a departure from this painful trend. Not a single ball was booted, and four double plays, including one off the bat of Andre Ethier with one out and the bases jammed full of Dodgers in the eighth inning, helped cap off an ultra-clutch outing by Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants bullpen.

Several things have to happen if the San Francisco defense is to keep trending in the right direction.

First of all, Brandon Crawford needs to either find his way to the bench or get his head on straight. The shortstop, who at season’s beginning was touted as a potential Gold Glove winner, leads a Keystone-Cop defense with six errors and consistently looks lost at maybe the most important spot in the field. It may be difficult to sit him until Pablo Sandoval returns from his hand surgery, but once the Panda comes back the shortstop job should be Joaquin Arias’ to lose. The recent call-up has looked solid with the mitt and comes up with a clutch hit every now and again.

The next priority should be to get Brett Pill out of left field. His arm has the strength of a pool noodle, and the Giants need guns in the outfield. Pill, who had the only big hit Tuesday with his second inning, two-run blast off Clayton Kershaw should hold down the second base job every day. If Ryan Theriot can’t hit his weight, he should warm the pine. Nate Schierholtz can fill his spot in the lineup, and even if he hits .250, it’s an improvement.

The bottom line is that Tuesday’s game should serve as an eye-opener. The Giants need to take defense more seriously if they’re going to win close games, which over the past two years has been their bread and butter. The runs won’t come in bunches no matter who’s batting seventh, but at least they’ll be able to say the same for the squad in the other dugout.

Alex Grotewohl can be reached at [email protected].