Pagan, Posey get rest in opener vs. Rockies

SAN FRANCISCO -- Even though he has a 10-game hitting streak to start the season, Giants center fielder Angel Pagan was absent from Friday night's lineup against the visiting Rockies, as Juan Perez made his first career start as a leadoff hitter instead.

Even though he's mindful of Pagan's hot streak, Giants manager Bruce Bochy sounded more concerned with getting Pagan a scheduled day off.

"He's really been playing well," Bochy said before Friday's 6-5 victory. "He's been out there running quite a bit. I just knew that he would need tonight or tomorrow off, and decided to go tonight."

Perez, who appeared in 34 games with San Francisco last year, said he spent most of the 2013 season in Triple-A Fresno as the leadoff man, a role he also held during the 2010 season in High-A ball. On Friday, he went 0-for-4 at the plate, but turned an eighth-inning putout into a double play by nabbing Jordan Pacheco with a sharp throw to first base.

"There's no pressure," Perez said. "Just going to go out there and do the best I can, get on base like Pagan's been doing. I don't have to put pressure. I just have to go out there and do what I know I can do."

Bochy used the same reasoning in also giving Buster Posey the night off against Colorado and starter Jorge De La Rosa, while noting that he'd like to get bench players some at-bats. In place of Posey, Hector Sanchez made his second start of the year and first one since April 3, going 0-for-3 and getting hit by a pitch.

"Well, you have to get them in there," Bochy said. "You need to mix it up and mix him in there as often as you can. It's hard to ask them to come through for you off the bench if they're not getting much playing time."

Posey was also clotheslined by Paul Goldschmidt running down the first-base line on a bunt single Thursday night. His left shoulder looked like it took the brunt of the hit from Goldschmidt before he fell to the ground, and he was also dinged up by a couple of foul balls, but the catcher said he wasn't feeling any major side effects Friday.

"I'm a little sore," Posey said. "But I don't know if it's from that [collision] or a 4 1/2-hour game."