Before the Giants routed the Mets 10-1 Monday night, Bruce Bochy delivered a 10-minute message best summarized as play smart, play loose and expect to win on the road. His players then grabbed the reins and banged out a season-high 18 hits to earn a series split.

"It was a great message and a great time for that message," said Aaron Rowand, who might have played his best all-around game with the Giants. "It just basically was, go out and stick together as a group, be positive and let it go. Don't go out there and play hesitant or whatever. Go out there and let it all hang out.

"If we're going to lose, we're going to lose the right way. We're not going to be tentative. We're going to be smart on the bases, aggressive on the bases, aggressive on defense. We're going to play to win instead of trying not to lose."

Bochy saw his hitters pressing, particularly on the road, where the Giants were 24-34 as he addressed them. They were 1-2 to start a season-long 11-game trip, and he did not want their road woes creeping into their heads.

"It's our decision," Bochy told reporters after the game. "Hopefully, we'll decide how road trips are supposed to go. We needed to loosen up here, let the bats go, and they did it tonight. It was good to see us break out and take some pressure off these pitchers."

Granted, the Giants did most of their damage against Livan Hernandez, who always was good for 10-hit outings in his best days and is holding onto his job by a thread. But 18 hits are 18 hits.

Rowand's first four-hit game of the year included his first homer since July 2. He also threw a runner out at home and started a magnificent double play by motoring into the right-center gap to catch a Daniel Murphy blast. Randy Winn had his first three-hit game since June 2.

The Giants were leading 3-1 and had the bases loaded in the sixth when Bochy went for the jugular and had Nate Schierholtz bat for pitcher Joe Martinez.

"Obviously, he's a genius," Martinez said, "because Schierholtz hit a double."

Actually, Schierholtz hit what would have been a grand slam in most parks, maybe even China Basin - but it banged off a recessed part of the right-field wall, one of those oh-so-cute modern ballpark quirks. Two runs scored for a 5-1 lead. The Giants got their sixth run later in the inning and turned four eighth-inning singles against Tim Redding into three more runs.

Martinez earned his third win in front of gobs of friends and relatives. He hails from South Orange, N.J., 30 miles from Citi Field. Brandon Medders, Bob Howry, Justin Miller and Merkin Valdez added four shutout innings to secure Martinez's homecoming win.

The trip continues with three games in Cincinnati and four in Colorado. Bochy has to hope his message sticks.

"We've had our struggles in the road. It's the elephant in the closet," he said before the game. "We talked about it. We talked about ways of figuring it out. I do think it's a stigma. You can believe it or you can shed it. It's your choice. It is a self-fulfilling prophesy."

Bochy does not believe work ethic is an issue. To the contrary, he suggested that maybe the players are trying too hard and should back off on some work.

"If things aren't working," he said, "change things up."

For this Giants team, now one game behind Colorado in the wild-card race, nothing spells change more than 18 hits.

E-mail Henry Schulman at hschulman@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle