ST. LOUIS -- There weren't many highlights for the San Francisco Giants in Friday's 11-1 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium and maybe the only one came from a quiet, but productive, source.

Left fielder Fred Lewis had one hit among his three at-bats, extending his hitting streak to eight games, drove in a run, reached base twice among his four plate appearances and registered his first stolen base of the season.

"He's done a good job in the leadoff spot," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

The outfielder's stolen base came in the third inning, when his RBI single off Todd Wellemeyer with two outs tied the score at 1. Lewis worked Wellemeyer for an eight-pitch at-bat and then got himself into scoring position by stealing second off backup catcher Jason LaRue.

"I knew who was behind the plate and I knew that if I got a good jump that I could take it," Lewis said. "My legs were feeling good yesterday and then I just felt like running."

In the last eight games, Lewis is batting .433 with 13 hits in 30 at-bats.

For the season, Lewis has his batting average at .326 (15 hits in 46 at-bats) with six doubles, one triple, two RBIs and six runs scored. His on-base percentage is up to .404.

Lewis, who hit .287 in 157 at-bats with the Giants a year ago, is taking advantage of the opportunity for playing time with veteran outfielder Dave Roberts on the disabled list after having knee surgery.

You might also see the speedster from Mississippi run even more. Lewis only had five stolen bases in 58 games last season, but he wants to use his speed whenever he gets the chance.

"I pretty much am going to be attempting as many as I can," he said.

The Giants went into Saturday's game ranked second in the Major Leagues with 18 stolen bases, only one behind Minnesota's league-leading 19 thefts.

"It's something that we're all going to do more of," Lewis said. "We know we don't have a lot of power and we're just looking to get in scoring position as much as possible and put runs up on the board."