SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tim Lincecum has heard bigger ovations in Little League.

He struck out eight batters in five innings to polite applause from the two dozen fans who watched him pitch during a minor league scrimmage at Giants Baseball Complex on Monday.

Two more times off a mound, and Lincecum will be thrown into a much bigger environment: a hostile crowd of 50,000-plus at Dodger Stadium. Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said he expected Lincecum to open as the No. 3 starter behind Barry Zito and Matt Cain.

"If they're all healthy, that would be my guess for now," said Righetti, adding that Jonathan Sanchez and Kevin Correia probably would follow in that order.

The Giants decided to keep Lincecum from boarding the bus to Tucson to face the Colorado Rockies on Monday, preferring he complete his work in a low-pressure environment. He threw 85 pitches over five innings, gave up five singles, walked one, hit a batter and allowed two runs to score — one on a wild pitch.

For the most part, he was around the plate with all his pitches and even threw both sliders he attempted for strikes.

Lincecum noted that he had already faced the San Diego Padres twice, so matching up with another National League West team might not have been the smartest play.

Righetti said the logic was simpler than that. He just wanted Lincecum to relax.

"He looked like a closer coming out of the bullpen his last time out, and tried to throw like one," Righetti said. "Sometimes guys don't even realize they're doing it. It's just a different atmosphere (at the complex). When you see them relax, they can make their pitches, make mistakes and try it again."

Righetti said he often was sent to minor league camp during his days as a New York Yankee, with owner George Steinbrenner sometimes putting him in the van.

"He'd say, `Get the hell out of my camp,' " Righetti said. "He'd send me over there for two weeks."

Righetti might have some of his other struggling starters take a turn off a minor league mound.

"It's happened to every guy that's ever walked the face of the earth," Righetti said. "You get on the mound, you get fired up, you've got to control your mind and your body. Sanchez fights it every time he goes out there and he'll continue to do it until the day he calms down."

Lincecum said his minor groin strain hasn't been a factor in any of his starts.