Lineup takes shape on 14-run afternoon

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For the final Cactus League home game Monday, Giants manager Bruce Bochy constructed a fair preview for Opening Day. Brandon Belt batted second behind Denard Span, with Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford at three, four and five. Aaron Hill batted sixth as a place-holder for Eduardo Nuñez, and Joe

Panik was seventh, which was fine with him.

“I’ve got some protection behind me,” he said with a smile. That was Madison

Bumgarner, who batted eighth, ahead of Gorkys Hernandez hitting ninth in the

Jarrett Parker spot. That group had a field day in a 14-2 victory over the Reds. The Giants pinned 10 runs on lefthanded starter Cody Reed, who had been having a nice spring.

Bochy has not had a chance to tinker with batting orders because Posey and Crawford were at the World Baseball Classic for more than two weeks. Bochy is experimenting now, with Sunday’s season opener quickly approaching.

Bochy combined his knowledge of the hitters and metrics provided by team data crunchers to create Monday’s lineup.

“You look at the two guys at the top of the order: They’re on-base guys. The numbers show that,” Bochy said. “You’ve got experienced guys in the heart of the order with Pence, Buster and Craw. Look at what Craw is doing. You want him in that spot.

“Going down the order, you’ve got power there with Parker versus right-handers. Panik’s another good hitter. Some days, you’ll see the pitcher hitting eighth. Sometimes, you won’t. Nuñez is a guy I could move around more.”

Nuñez could lead off against left-handed pitchers, particularly when Span is off.

Fitting Parker is the challenge. The least experienced players often hit eighth, but that is a tough spot even for an older player because the opposing pitcher often nibbles. Furthermore, Bochy is not keen about wasting potential power in the eighth spot and would like protection behind Parker.

“I will say that it forces the hitter to be more of a thinker, being in the eight hole,” Bochy said. “It made Crawford a better hitter.”

So, Parker could hit ninth when the pitcher bats eighth.

Parker started well this spring but has fallen into an old trap. He struck out for the 12th time in 18 at-bats Monday, batting for Bumgarner, before hitting a sacrifice fly in his second plate appearance.

Bochy expects Parker to struggle at times as an everyday player and acknowledged that Parker is “fighting it” in these last days of spring.

The fear is a loss of confidence and over-thinking. Parker knows that and said he is not there.

“That’s the game of baseball. Everybody has struggles,” he said. “I haven’t felt the way I’ve wanted to. I’ve been working on things. I’m taking it as a positive that today I got into a two-strike count, battled and got a sacrifice fly.”

The biggest of the Giants’ 15 hits might have been Pence’s two-run double. Pence was 7-for-49 (including the exhibition game against Puerto Rico) when he hit it. The team has to hope that hit will set him on a track toward improvement, because the time for rehearsal is all but over.

Bumgarner, Panik hit: Bumgarner completed a great spring with seven innings against the Reds, or, more accurately, the Triple-A Louisville Bats. He allowed two runs and struck out nine and finished with a 2.52 ERA in seven starts covering 25 innings. Those two earned runs were the only ones he surrendered over his final 20 innings. Bumgarner also took Hernan Iribarren’s line drive off his left thigh, providing a brief scare, but continued after a visit from head athletic trainer Dave

Groeschner without throwing a practice pitch.

Panik had X-rays on his right shoulder blade after being hit by a pitch in the second inning. They were negative, and he said he could play if this were the regular season.