Giants beat: McCutchen, Pence to start spring opener.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Fans will not have to wait to see Andrew McCutchen in right field for the Giants. He will play there in Friday’s Cactus League opener against the Brewers. Hunter

Pence will be in left. They are the only projected Opening Day starters in the lineup, not because they need more time to learn new positions. Manager Bruce Bochy has watched them hit, run and track flyballs and thinks they are the most ready after a few days of workouts.

Steven Duggar will start in center. Ryder Jones will be at first, Miguel Gomez at second, Kelby Tomlinson at short and Pablo Sandoval at third, with Nick Hundley catching and Jarrett Parker the designated hitter.

When someone suggested it will all be different by the third inning, Pence smiled and said, “Maybe.”

Ty Blach will start, backed by Tyler Cyr, Andrew Suarez, Pierce Johnson, D.J. Snelton and Madison Younginger.

Chris Stratton will face the Dodgers on Saturday (with Brandon Belt the only regular to make the trip to Glendale) and Madison Bumgarner goes against the Cubs on Sunday, lined up as the potential fourth, fifth and first starters for the regular season.

This is Bochy’s way of confirming that Bumgarner will make his fifth consecutive Opening Day start.

“That’s a shocker for you guys, I know,” Bochy said.

Blach and Stratton are not guaranteed spots in the rotation, but they entered camp as the favorites. 10th-inning weirdness: Major League Baseball is toying with the idea of requiring teams to play a 10th inning in spring games and beginning the innings with a runner on second base, similar to the experiment used in last year’s World Baseball Classic. The object is reducing the number of games that end in a tie after nine innings.

MLB executive Joe Torre told Bochy the plan would be implemented this spring, but a league official said that though the idea is being discussed, and plans readied in case it would be implemented, it won’t be. Briefly: Willie Mays arrived for his annual visit. Among the first players to greet him were Austin Jackson and McCutchen, who surely will talk to Mays about outfield play. … Bochy has invited Matt Cain to Arizona as a spring instructor and is awaiting an answer. … Bochy would not rule out an appearance in a Cactus League game by 18-yearold prospect Heliot Ramos, who will be at minor-league camp . ... Pitcher Joan Gregorio, designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Tony Watson, cleared waivers and is back in camp as a nonroster man.