Buster Posey was out of the lineup for the series finale against the Padres, a day game after a night game, and manager Bruce Bochy said he’ll continue giving the catcher time off in an effort to keep him fresh all season and strong down the stretch.

“The plan really all year with Buster, probably, is to give him a few more breaks than what I’ve given in the past,” Bochy said.

Bochy likes backup Trevor Brown, who had two hits Wednesday and is said to work well with pitchers.

“Because of Brownie’s play and the way he catches back there, it makes it a little easier to do,” Bochy said.

Bochy said Posey is fine physically. “We’re going to try to keep it that way, and this is part of it.”

Last year, Posey had career highs in games (150) and plate appearances (623) and also had a career-high 37 starts at first base. He has had two this year.

Making contact: The Giants struck out three times in 47 plate appearances and are the National League’s best contact team.

They’ve struck out in 15.9 percent of their plate appearances (141 in 888), lowest in the league. Only the Angels in the AL have fewer K’s.

“Look at the type of hitters we have,” Bochy said. “We’re not a power-hitting club. I know early, a lot of people got giddy with all the home runs. That’s not going to be us. Throughout the lineup, we’re more of a line-drive-hitting club, and those guys don’t strike out as much.”

Briefly: Gregor Blanco made the defensive play of the game, diving in left-center to rob Derek Norris. … Jeff Samardzija has five RBIs, two more than his previous career high. ... Brandon Crawford exited after hitting a ball off his knee. Bochy expects the shortstop to be fine.

John Shea is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

On deck

Thursday

Off

Friday

at Mets

4:10 p.m. CSNBA

Peavy (1-1) vs.

Matz (2-1)

Saturday

at Mets

1:05 p.m. CSNBA, FS1

Cain (0-2) vs. deGrom (2-0)

Leading off

Dominant: The Giants have won 11 of their past 14 against San Diego, including eight in a row at AT&T Park. They’ve outscored the Padres 95-45 in those 14 games.

— John Shea