SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Earlier this month, Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija said he viewed this spring as a series of eight hurdles: bullpen, heavy bullpen, live batting practice and five exhibition starts.

Samardzija officially cleared the halfway point after making his Cactus League debut in the Giants’ 15-2 win over the Royals on Wednesday at Scottsdale Stadium. The 34-year-old veteran gave up one hit over two scoreless innings, struck out one and threw 32 pitches in his first competitive outing in a Giants uniform since July 14.

“It’s exciting,” Samardzija said. “You can do all the rehab games you want. It’s not quite the same as getting out there in big league Spring Training and getting to work.”

Samardzija, who was limited to only 10 starts last season by a nagging shoulder issue, touched 94 mph with his fastball and 84 mph with his slider, and he said he was pleased with the separation between the two pitches.

“For me, that’s going to be the big thing,” Samardzija said. “It’s not necessarily so much what the velo is. I need good arm speed, but I just need to be able to sell my pitches. As long as I feel like I’m getting that good whip with my fastball and there’s enough separation with my offspeed, we can work with it.”

After struggling to a 6.25 ERA in his injury-slowed 2018 campaign, Samardzija decided to alter his approach to the offseason, eschewing his usual break and jumping straight into his rehab program on Oct. 5. He kept a locker at Oracle Park throughout the offseason, working out there three times a week and at a rehab facility in San Mateo twice a week.

“It allowed me to take a step-by-step approach to getting ready,” Samardzija said. “I think we just identified that as an issue last year. I was doing the same offseason I had done since the beginning of my career, which had worked for me in the past. Rest was always a big key for me after throwing a lot of innings, and it just kind of came to a point to where the older you get, you can’t take as much time off. Then, you just get behind the 8-ball too much, and it’s hard to get back to normal.”

While Samardzija has been a reliable innings-eater throughout his career, he said he’s moved away from his goal of regularly producing 200-inning campaigns. The Giants have already told him they are not expecting that type of workload from him, especially given the depth the club has accrued in the bullpen. With less pressure to consistently pitch deep into games, Samardzija said he will likely mix in more of his secondary pitches earlier in his outings rather than saving them for later innings.

“There’s a little monkey off my back with 200 innings not necessarily being my goal,” Samardzija said. “The game’s changed, so obviously, we’ll attack a little more early.”

Power show

The Giants’ offense broke out for 18 hits on Wednesday, with Evan Longoria, Gerardo Parra, Chris Shaw, Joey Bart and Zach Green belting their first home runs of the spring. Shaw, Bart and Green went back-to-back-to-back to help fuel a nine-run eighth inning.

Injury updates

• Manager Bruce Bochy said Buster Posey (right hip) will catch three innings in his Cactus League debut against the Reds on Friday night at Scottsdale Stadium. Steven Duggar (left shoulder) is also expected to start in center field for the first time this spring.

• Brandon Belt is slated to return to the lineup on Thursday against the Brewers after missing three games with an illness. Steven Vogt (right shoulder) will start at designated hitter in his Cactus League debut.

Up next

Right-hander Chris Stratton, who is competing for a spot in the Giants’ rotation, will make his second spring outing at 12:05 p.m. PT on Thursday against the Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix. Left-hander Ty Blach and pitching prospect Melvin Adon are also scheduled to pitch for San Francisco.