S.F. offense largely silent in team’s Cactus League opener

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Giants’ 2019 exhibition season began Saturday with No. 34 holding the ball, but not the one the fans are dying to see. Don’t hold that against Chris Stratton .If Bryce Harper comes to San Francisco and wants the number, Stratton is willing to negotiate.

His negotiation through his first and only inning against the Angels did not go well. Stratton allowed two runs and the Giants were pointed toward a 10-3 loss at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

With no established regulars making the trip, the Giants had one hit through seven innings (Austin Slater), and even that should have been ruled a throwing error on shortstop David Fletcher.

The Giants had just two solid days of hitting live pitching before two days of rain curtailed their work.

“They were off today,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

The Angels added five

Angels 10, Giants 3

Notable: Newly signed Cameron Maybin and Yangervis Solarte each went 0-for-2, as did Mac Williamson, as the Giants were held to one hit through seven innings . ... Shortstop Ryan Howard, who could get a call-up from Triple-A at some point this season, hit an RBI double in a two-run eighth inning . ... Former Giant Jarrett Parker, who did not play organized ball in 2018, hit a two-run double against bullpen hopeful Kieran Lovegrove and got an outfield assist.

Quotable: “I’m not afraid of birds.”

— Outfield prospect Drew Ferguson, who has heard a lot about the seagulls at Oracle Park that made life miserable for the ornithophobic Denard Span

Sunday’s game: Giants vs. Cubs, at Scottsdale, 12:05 p.m. Radio: 680 runs in the fourth inning against Steven Okert, all unearned, including four on a Taylor Ward grand slam. An Abiatal Avelino error at short started the inning, and just-signed Yangervis Solarte did not look particularly mobile while letting a Peter Bourjos groundball get through to left field for an RBI single ahead of the slam.

Bochy’s main goal was getting younger players into the game to get their feet wet. That included catcher Joey Bart, who got his first two at-bats wearing a San Francisco uniform, striking out and getting a single behind third base.

One of the big stories of the past few days fizzled. The league is experimenting with a 20-second pitch clock. The Angels did not even have one behind the plate where pitchers can see it, and Bochy did not bother discussing the rules with his team.

“We don’t have guys we need to talk to,” Bochy said.

Stratton said he had a pitch clock in the minors and never ran afoul of it.

“I try to work fast,” he said. “Not Ty Blach fast, but fast.”

Blach’s pitch: The Giants’ best performance came from Blach, who pitched two scoreless innings. Blach was trying a new pitch, a slider, which the staff hopes will give him another weapon when he is stretched out as a starter or long man.

“We put it in his repertoire and he let it go,” Bochy said. “We think it’s going to be a good pitch for him, particularly against lefties.”

Left-handed hitters fared better against Blach than did righties last year.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@ sfchronicle.com

Angels 10, Giants 3