With bullpen a strength, could Giants add another bat?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Starting pitching has been viewed as one of the Giants’ biggest needs heading into Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline. But given the low inventory on the market, they seem likely to stick with their unconventional staff, which features only two traditional starters and a panoply of bulk-inning relievers.

San Francisco started an opener for a third consecutive day on Monday, but their parade of relievers didn’t get enough support from their ice-cold bats in a 4-3 series-opening loss to the D-backs in 11 innings at Oracle Park.

Opener Jakob Junis and lefty Alex Wood -- whose outing was pushed up a day after Alex Cobb fell ill with a stomach bug -- combined for 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball. But the Giants recorded only five hits and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, continuing a month-long stretch of offensive futility for the club.

Ketel Marte snapped a 3-3 tie with an RBI ground-rule double off Taylor Rogers in the top of the 11th, and the Giants could not score their automatic runner in the bottom half of the inning after Arizona reliever Scott McGough struck out Joc Pederson and Blake Sabol before coaxing a groundout from Patrick Bailey to end the game.

Aside from Wilmer Flores, who launched a third-inning solo shot to finish with the second-highest batting average (.383) in July among National League hitters, the Giants’ lineup has been mired in a team-wide slump, posting a Major League-worst .632 OPS over 25 games this month.

“We’ve been squaring up the baseball from time to time, we just haven’t been rewarded for it,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Obviously, it’s not enough. We’ve got to do everything we can to come out on the other side of this little skid when it comes to our offensive production with runners on base and in big moments.”

The frigid stretch could shift the Deadline priorities from an arm to a bat, especially since the Giants remain 14-5 in bullpen games this season.

“I don’t think we view the opener as some core philosophy that we’re trying to champion, but we’ve had a lot of success in those games,” president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said before the game. “A lot of that comes from the ability to feature our bullpen, which has been a strength of the team.

“I’m not sure there’s a starter [out there] who could go 7-2 in their last nine starts. We’re 14-[5] with openers. It’s a pretty good formula for us, and we want to make sure we’re not overtaxing our pitching staff and continuing to get buy-in.

“The unselfishness that we’ve had on the position player side, guys coming off the bench and pinch-hitting, I think it’s really carried over to the pitching group now. We’re seeing a lot of that same selflessness, which has been a huge part of the story for us.”

With a surplus of multi-inning relievers, there was some speculation that San Francisco could potentially trade away some veteran bullpen pieces, but Zaidi said the calculus changed following the injuries to Anthony DeSclafani (right elbow flexor strain) and pitching prospects Keaton Winn (right elbow soreness), Kyle Harrison (right hamstring strain) and Carson Whisenhunt (left elbow sprain).

“It’s kind of a wakeup call on how easily that pitching depth can evaporate,” Zaidi said. “We’re kind of in a different position than we were even a week ago. I think it’s kind of less likely that we explore something there.

“It kind of feels right now like we have just enough pitching to be comfortable and to have some options.”

The Giants were active on Monday, acquiring outfielder AJ Pollock, utility man Mark Mathias and cash considerations from the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Mathias was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, but Pollock is expected to be activated on Tuesday and should help bolster the outfield while Mike Yastrzemski is out with a left hamstring strain.

Zaidi said he’s continuing to have conversations and is open to adding more “complementary” pieces to lengthen the Giants’ lineup. The club has been pursuing middle infield help, though it should get a big boost from the return of second baseman Thairo Estrada, who is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Sacramento on Tuesday.

“I think even in the last 24 hours until the Deadline, we’ll be looking for ways to deepen our roster and give ourselves as many good options putting together a one-through-nine lineup every day that can grind and create a little bit more consistency,” Zaidi said.