Season Preview: San Francisco Giants

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The San Francisco Giants were mostly about pitching on their roads to World Series titles in 2010 and 2012.

It's no different in 2014.

The Giants invested heavily on starting pitching in the offseason, re-signing Tim Lincecum for two years and $35 million and adding Tim Hudson for two years and $23 million. They also brought back Ryan Vogelsong for $5 million.

Of course, Matt Cain ($112 million extension over five years) and Madison Bumgarner ($35 million over five years) already were earning a few coins.

The bottom line is, the Giants will live and die with their pitching. It got them a World Series title two years ago and also got them a 76-86 record last year, when they ranked 13th in the league in rotation ERA.

So it was good news for Giants fans that the top four starters -- Bumgarner, Cain, Hudson and Lincecum -- opened spring training with 27 straight scoreless innings. No runs. No earned runs.

Eventually, all got roughed up except for Bumgarner, whose scoreless inning streak reached 17 through four starts (21 if counting a four-inning exhibition at Scottsdale Stadium against top Giants prospects.

"We knew that we didn't do what we needed to do last year," Cain said, "and you can tell guys are motivated about it and don't want that to happen again."

Lincecum worked on being more of a pitch-to-contact guy, and Vogelsong worked on a new windup before scratching it in mid-March. Otherwise, the rotation was moving forward feeling healthy and confident about a rebound.

As always, the pitching is the strength, and that includes a bullpen featuring four relievers around for both championships: Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla and lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez.

The offense looks to be more menacing with newcomer Michael Morse in left, a trimmed-down Pablo Sandoval and a stronger Buster Posey, whose production tailed off last season, prompting him to work on leg-strengthening over the winter.

A big part of the 2012 championship, Marco Scutaro, seems destined for the disabled list because his back isn't strong enough to keep him in the lineup. That would open the door for utility man Joaquin Arias to play daily but would prompt manager Bruce Bochy to tweak his lineup.

Scutaro traditionally hits second after Angel Pagan, but it's possible Brandon Crawford could be moved up from the No. 8 hole. In any event a 3-4-5-6-7 sequence of Brandon Belt, Posey, Hunter Pence, Sandoval and Morse is an upgrade in depth and pop.

But it's far more about pitching on this team, and that's the area the Giants need to showcase the most if they have designs on another evened-year championship.

NOTES, QUOTES

--INF Joaquin Arias would play second base if 2B Marco Scutaro (back) opens the season on the DL. "We do think Joaquin is a good answer until we get Marco back, whether it's next week or however long it takes before Marco will be getting some playing time," manager Bruce Bochy said. The Giants weren't rushing Scutaro back. According to the DL rules, a player can miss only the first five days of a season if he is put on the DL retroactive to 10 days, but it is possible Scutaro might need extended rest.

--RHP Tim Hudson had four hits in his first five at-bats in spring training, and manager Bruce Bochy said he would use Hudson as a pinch-hitter, at least in sacrifice-bunt situations. "No question," Bochy said. Hudson was a productive hitter at Auburn but didn't swing much in the minors or in his six years with the A's. He joined the NL (Braves) in 2005. His career average is only .170, but he has handled the bat well so far as a Giant.

--RHP Matt Cain threw five perfect innings. In his next start, he gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. What a contrast. His next start was in a Triple-A game, and the numbers were somewhere in the middle. He came away feeling optimistic. "Today was better," Cain said. "The other day was a little out of whack. Today I threw a lot more strikes." Cain is slotted as the No. 2 starter.

--RHP Brett Bochy doesn't get special treatment just because he's the manager's kid. Except when he gets cut out of spring training. Last year over dinner, Bruce Bochy informed his son he was being sent to the minors. This year, the elder Bochy had to tell Brett the news again. This time over breakfast. "It was cheaper," the manager said.

--RHP Kameron Loe, 32, exercised an option in his minor-league contract to ask for a release and received it. He was informed he wouldn't make the big-league roster and was looking for a better chance elsewhere. The 6-foot-8 former Ranger/Brewer/Mariner/Cub/Brave had a 3.38 ERA in five exhibitions for the Giants.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm surprised nobody tweeted out the Brandon to Brandon to Brandon double play yesterday," -- Shortstop Brandon Crawford, who turned a DP with second baseman Brandon Hicks and first baseman Brandon Belt during an exhibition against Cleveland.

ROSTER REPORT

The Giants acquired starter Tim Hudson and left fielder Michael Morse to fill holes, and they will. If they can stay on the field. Both were slowed by injuries last year, and Morse had a calf issue for much of spring training. Health is an issue across the board, considering how the 2013 season took a turn for the worse with center fielder/leadoff hitter Angel Pagan shelved for months with a hamstring injury.

ROTATION

1. LHP Madison Bumgarner

2. RHP Matt Cain

3. RHP Tim Hudson

4. RHP Tim Lincecum

5. RHP Ryan Vogelsong

Bumgarner won the Opening Day job because he clearly had the best 2013 among Giants starters, and he also was the most consistent starter in spring training. The rotation ERA ranked 13th in the NL, and consistency will be vital. Cain had a rotten first half but a Cain-like second half. Lincecum was hit and miss. Vogelsong was ineffective when he wasn't on the DL.

Hudson not only will pitch in the middle of the rotation but will tutor Bumgarner, Lincecum and Cain, all of whom were strategically situated next to Hudson's locker at Scottsdale Stadium. Management wants Hudson's veteran presence to wear off on the rest of the rotation.

BULLPEN

RHP Sergio Romo (closer)

RHP Santiago Casilla

LHP Jeremy Affeldt

LHP Javier Lopez

RHP Jean Machi or RHP George Kontos or LHP Dan Runzler

RHP Yusmeiro Petit or LHP David Huff

Four of the spots were locks from the first day of spring training with Romo, Casilla, Affeldt and Lopez being a reliable group since 2010. Romo is coming off his first full season as closer, earning 38 saves, but struggled mightily early in spring training as he worked on a changeup. Once he busted out his slider later in camp, he was his old self.

The Giants had a heated competition for the final two spots, and Petit and Huff were vying to be the long reliever. Petit, who pitched well down the stretch last year, is a candidate to join the rotation in case of an injury. In a surprise move, hard-throwing Heath Hembree was cut late in camp.

LINEUP

1. CF Angel Pagan

2. 2B Marco Scutaro

3. 1B Brandon Belt

4. C Buster Posey

5. RF Hunter Pence

6. 3B Pablo Sandoval

7. LF Michael Morse

8. SS Brandon Crawford

Scutaro is the big question. He missed much of training camp with a back problem that carried over from last season. Playing consecutive days is questionable for the 38-year-old, who said the soreness is tough to take after nine innings. If Scutaro starts on the DL, Crawford is a candidate to hit second.

The lineup is deeper with Morse, who signed a one-year free-agent contract, the only man on the roster to hit 30 homers in a big-league season. Manager Bruce Bochy started using Belt in the No. 3 hole late last season and liked what he saw. Sandoval, eligible for free agency next winter, reported significantly lighter and could prompt management to give him an extension before he becomes a free agent.

RESERVES

C Hector Sanchez

INF Joaquin Arias

OF Gregor Blanco

INF Ehire Adrianza or INF Brandon Hicks

OF Juan Perez or Tyler Colvin

Arias is a safe choice to play second if Scutaro isn't available, but Adrianza is well-liked by management despite his offensive struggles in spring training. He is out of options, and Hicks was hot all March.

Blanco will get plenty of time, as a defensive replacement for Morse and starter when Pagan rests. Pence? He doesn't rest much -- he was the first Giant in history to start all 162 games in a season.

Sanchez, like Sandoval, reported to camp trimmed down. His priority is backing up Posey, but he displayed some versatility, playing first base like he played it his whole career. A sore back limited Colvin's playing time.

ROOKIE TO WATCH: INF Ehire Adrianza, 24, broke in with nine big league games last year and is knocking on the Giants' door. He is out of options and is a defensive whiz who played shortstop throughout his eight minor-league seasons but is capable of playing second. That makes him a candidate for playing time with Scutaro's iffy back situation. Adrianza hit .266 with two homers and 35 RBIs in 118 combined games in Double-A and Triple-A, but his strength is his defense.

TOP PROSPECT: LHP Edwin Escobar, 21, throws in the mid- to high 90s (mph) but is effective because he changes speeds of his fastballs. He sports a super strikeout-to-walk ratio -- 432 K's to 140 walks in five minor league seasons, including 146 and 30 in Double-A and Class A last season. He could get a chance at some point this season but is a decent bet to replace Vogelsong in the 2015 rotation.

COMEBACK PLAYER: If CF Angel Pagan plays the entire season, the Giants will benefit. He tore a hamstring tendon May 25 and missed three months, and the Giants didn't have the depth to respond and finished 10 games below .500 -- a year after Pagan helped ignite the Giants to the World Series title. Pagan had a mild back issue in spring training, but it didn't seem to detour him for Opening Day.

MEDICAL WATCH

--2B Marco Scutaro (back inflammation) remains questionable for Opening Day, having played only two innings entering the final week of spring training with an injury that bothered him last season. He had an epidural shot March 20, and manager Bruce Bochy said Opening Day was a "50-50" proposition.

--LF Michael Morse (right calf strain) was off-again, on-again, off-again with his injury but said he expects to be fine for the season.

--CF Angel Pagan (back tightness) missed time late in spring training, but the issue was considered minor.