By Morris Phillips

zimbio.com photo: The San Francisco Giants Ehire Adrianza whose expected to add some punch to the Giants line up gets congratulated by teammate Angel Pagan

The first place Giants can pitch.  All the money spent on that high-profile rotation and a better than respectable 3.38 team ERA after a week of games attest to that.

But the argument definitely can be made that the highest scoring team in the National League is actually driven by its offense and the ability to turn games with a explosive inning or even one swing of the bat.

Through seven games, the Giants have homered 14 times, with all eight regular starters hitting at least one.  Ehire Adrianza, Trevor Brown and Madison Bumgarner have gone deep as well, meaning opposing pitchers don’t get a lot of breathing room maneuvering through the San Francisco lineup.

But home runs aren’t the real story, but actually the byproduct of the real story, which is the team’s ability to hit deep in counts, not give at-bats away,  and wear opposing pitchers down then pounce.  The patient, but confident, approach sure worked last week as the Giants fell behind five times, but rallied each time to win.

Dave Roberts and Craig Counsell, the opposing managers, noticed the wearing effect the Giants’ hitters had on their pitching staffs as each admitted their relievers could do little to get Giants’ hitters off-balance.   Plate discipline was a major factor in the team’s first week success as San Francisco batters put the ball in play–striking out an NL-low 36 times as a collective–or drew walks, the definition of keeping the line moving.

Bruce Bochy’s decision to bat his pitcher eighth, which he did in all seven games, got an immediate endorsement from Angel Pagan, who scored a team-best eight runs and hit .320 the first week as the regular No. 9 hitter.  Brandon Belt led the team in on-base percentage at .433 by compiling seven hits and six walks.  Denard Span and Matt Duffy both hit below .250 but came up with some big hits, combining for 13 RBI.

The Giants continue their campaign Tuesday at Coors Field facing a Rockies’ team that has already hit 17 home runs, but hasn’t gotten the pitching performances that the Giants have.  So here are the indicators for the upcoming series to look for as signs the Giants are continuing their encouraging trends:

Do they produce the big inning?  The Giants had six innings the first week in which they scored three or more runs.  With such a consistent, and potent hitting lineup that should happen a couple of more times in Denver if the team’s playing well.

The team’s unusual roster composition continues to help.  Bochy kept 13 pitchers, and all 13 saw action in the team’s first week.  This allows the team to more frequently go to situational matchups after the starter departs and should keep the bullpen fresh.  Those assets could be most helpful in facing the Rockies.

Can Duffy and Panik be among the league’s best hitters?  The Giants’ third baseman surprised in his first year as a starter in place of Pablo Sandoval, and Panik was a revelation leading up to the 2014 postseason.  Already, one national writer is touting the second baseman as a challenger for the league’s batting title.  That may or may not happen this year, but watch both infielders for improved extra-base pop; they both had three extra-base hits in the first week.

On Tuesday, Jeff Samardzija looks for his first win as a Giant in a matchup with Colorado’s Tyler Chatwood.  The 26-year old missed the entire 2015 season after enduring a second Tommy John procedure, but he tamed the Diamondbacks in his first start, allowing seven singles and no walks in a 4-3 Rockies’ win.