SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy hasn't yet named the fourth and fifth starters for the team's pitching rotation. And Saturday's events probably didn't hasten any judgments for Bochy and the Giants' decision-makers.
Chris Stratton and Ty Blach, leading candidates to fill the back end of the rotation, struggled during San Francisco's split-squad exhibitions. Stratton blanked Cincinnati for four innings before yielding four runs in the fifth inning en route to a 5-4 Giants defeat in Goodyear. In Scottsdale, Blach surrendered four first-inning runs and ultimately allowed seven runs (three earned) in five innings as the Giants fell to the A's, 8-3.
Bochy dropped no hints regarding the rotation's season-opening composition. "We're talking about everything on a daily basis," he said, affirming that no decisions have been made.
Blach used sharp language to describe his performance, which was redemptive in the sense that he followed each of Oakland's multiple-run outbursts with shutout innings.
"As much as they [stink]," Blach said of such outings, "they're good to kind of get a little gut check."
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Derek Holland, another candidate for a starting role, didn't pitch Saturday. Tyler Beede, also competing for a starting role, looked sharp in a scoreless ninth against the A's and immediately became the subject of speculation regarding a switch to the bullpen.
"That could be a role for him someday," Bochy said. "Right now, he's a starter. But you never know."
• The Giants trimmed their spring roster to 46 by optioning infielder-outfielder Ryder Jones to Minor League camp. Jones started 41 games for the Giants last year, but sustained a hamstring injury early in camp.
Up next
Madison Bumgarner will continue preparing for his March 29 season-opening start against the Dodgers by facing another National League West opponent, the Rockies, on Sunday. First pitch at Salt River Fields is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. PT.