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Hudson's return will send Vogelsong to 'pen

Giants' veteran starter set to come off DL on Monday

PHOENIX -- Manager Bruce Bochy announced his post-All Star break starting rotation Thursday night as the Giants worked out in the teeming desert heat of Chase Field. The roof in the 18-year-old ballpark was open.

Ryan Vogelsong is officially back in the bullpen and will be replaced in the rotation by Tim Hudson when the right-hander comes off the disabled list Monday in San Diego. The Giants don't have to make an associated move until then, Bochy said.

"Vogey took it OK, I mean he wants to start," Bochy said about Vogelsong, who made 16 starts during the first half and was 6-6 with a 4.23 ERA. "He was there [in the bullpen] to start the season. I just need him to be a little patient there for us."

The rest of the rotation looks like this: Matt Cain, Jake Peavy and Madison Bumgarner, in that order, will work the three-game weekend series against the D-backs that starts Friday night. Cain (right forearm and elbow) and Peavy (back) missed most of the first half, but each made a pair of starts prior to the break.

Hudson, recovered from what he called "old-itis" of the right shoulder, will face the Padres on Monday night at Petco Park. And Chris Heston, the rookie first-half surprise, will get the Padres on Tuesday night.

"It was a good time to give him a break," Bochy said about Hudson, who turned 40 the day of the All-Star Game. "But he's good to go now. He's been throwing bullpen [sessions]. We've stretched him out in the bullpen. He had ankle surgery not too long ago. Your body gets beat up playing this game."

Tim Lincecum, still shaking off the ravages of being hit with a line drive off his right forearm, will remain on the DL and in rehab until further notice, Bochy said.

"We don't have a target date yet," Bochy said. "He'll be out here doing some running and some throwing, but he's still in a rehab mode."

The Giants need a turnaround from the pitching staff if they intend to defend last year's third World Series title in five years. They went into the break with a staff ERA of 3.82, ranked 16th in Major League Baseball. The starters are ranked 13th with a 3.91 ERA. All the clubs they have to beat -- the Cardinals, Pirates, Mets, Dodgers and Cubs -- have the top-five staff ERAs in the Majors, in that order.

To that end, Bochy said that reliever Jeremy Affeldt, who has been on the DL with soreness in his left shoulder, would throw a few innings in simulated games here this weekend with the hope of coming off the DL perhaps as early as Monday.

Nori Aoki, the outfielder who is mending a fracture in his right leg, also is beginning baseball activities and could be ready for a Minor League rehab stint soon, Bochy said.

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseball. Follow @boomskie on Twitter.
Read More: San Francisco Giants, Madison Bumgarner, Jake Peavy, Chris Heston, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson