Giants beat:

Hunter Pence could be headed to disabled list.

A manager would love to have a team of 25 Hunter Pences who are gung-ho to play even when they are ailing. But at some point, truth becomes more important than derringdo.

Manager Bruce Bochy explained that Sunday as he hinted that Pence might be headed to the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain.

“Hunter is one of those guys who comes in and says, ‘I feel great. I’m ready to go,’ ” Bochy said. “I’m saying this in a good way, not a negative way, but we’ve lost a little trust in him when he says he’s ready to go. It’s up to me to adjust his playing time.”

Pence has undergone an MRI exam. Bochy was waiting for general manager Bobby Evans to arrive to discuss whether to put Pence on the DL or keep him active and available to pinch-hit until the hamstring improves.

If the Giants decide on the DL, they probably would promote Mac Williamson or Orlando Calixte from Triple-A Sacramento. Both are on the 40-man roster.

Pence missed two months last season after hamstring surgery on his other leg.

Bochy had good things to say about Stanford alum Austin Slater, who fell a triple short of the cycle at high-altitude Colorado Springs on Saturday and is hitting .308 with an .803 OPS for Sacramento. The 24-yearold outfielder is not on the 40man roster, however, making an immediate call-up less likely. Samardzija’s control: For the second time in his career, Jeff Samardzija has a three-game streak as a starter without a walk. His desire to challenge hitters can prove costly at times but also can be rewarding.

With two runs in and a runner on in the fifth inning Sunday, Samardzija fell behind Joey Votto before getting to a 3-2 count, then executed a backdoor slider in the zone and got an inning-ending double play.

Samardzija called walk prevention his “main goal.”

“I went through a spot early in my career where a lot of my problems came from giving free passes and being in the stretch a lot,” he said. “If I’m behind in the count, I like to attack guys and make them put it in play. The more times you do that over the years, you find you get some outs, and some big outs, in hitters’ counts.” Closer throwing: Mark Melancon, on the DL with a right pronator strain, played catch for the second day in a row and might toss a light bullpen session off the mound Monday.

Melancon is eligible to return from the forearm injury Tuesday, but he will need more time.