Giants' Spencer Howard: On tap for bulk relief Monday

Howard is expected to serve as the Giants' primary pitcher out of the bullpen in Monday's game against the Cubs, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Left-hander Erik Miller will serve as the Giants' opening pitcher but isn't likely to work more than an inning or two before turning the game over to Howard, who is expected to eat up the bulk of the innings. Howard covered just one frame in his last appearance, but prior to that, he averaged nearly four innings and more than 60 pitches in his first four outings for the Giants following his May 28 call-up from Triple-A Sacramento.