Giants/A's

HOUSTON – Dan Straily had a tough spring, and he probably will pay the price for it by being sent to Sacramento today when the A's activate Bartolo Colon for the second game of Oakland's series with the Houston Astros.

SAN FRANCISCO – Barry Zito was busy playing long toss in center field, readying for his start Friday, seemingly oblivious as a half-dozen of his teammates walked through the AT&T Park bleachers carrying the Giants' 2012 World Series banner. But as he made his way to the bullpen mound, he couldn't resist looking over his shoulder.

It turns out we hardly knew Barry Zito. We had him pegged as an overpriced failure, a vanity purchase that was intended to move the Giants beyond the specter of Barry Bonds – but had veered close to being a franchise wrecker.

Barry Zito warmed up inside as the celebration began without him. When he heard his name, he popped out for a quick look.

The Giants will raise their 2012 World Series championship flag Friday afternoon before playing the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park. Then they'll take the field behind the guy without whom, in all likelihood, there would be no ceremony at all.

After getting off to an 0-for-10 start with his new bushy beard, Josh Reddick was happy to silence those critics calling on him to shave.

If the A's first win of 2013 required a title, it would definitely be "Night of the Newbies," at least at the plate.

Tim Lincecum walked seven, matching a career worst, yet still managed to get the win when Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence homered to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night in the rubber game of their season-opening series.

After getting off to an 0-for-10 start with his new bushy beard, Josh Reddick was happy to silence those critics calling on him to shave.

Tim Lincecum's official return to the rotation after his bullpen dalliance last postseason was anything but smooth.

A night after Clayton Kershaw blanked the Giants on Opening Day, Madison Bumgarner returned the favor.

It was a tough spring for Jarrod Parker, and based on his first game of the regular season, things haven't gotten much better for the second-year A's starter.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is being held out of the lineup tonight with a virus. Belt, who has been battling a bug for the past few days, was told to take the later bus to Dodger Stadium and got treatment from the Giants' staff when he arrived at the stadium this afternoon.

From his vantage point behind the plate, Giants catcher Buster Posey said he wasn't sure if Clayton Kershaw's hit had enough oomph to clear the fence in the deepest part of Dodger Stadium. Nor was George Kontos, who threw the two-seam fastball to start the eighth inning that Kershaw – the Dodgers' ace who had one extra-base hit in five seasons in the majors – crushed to straightaway center field.

For a player shaking off two weeks of rust and drawing Clayton Kershaw as an Opening Day test, Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval acquitted himself admirably Monday.

The A's set an unwanted American League record with their ninth straight Opening Day loss Monday, a sour stat on an otherwise festive evening that was dampened by a world-class nemesis.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt made his major-league debut in Los Angeles in 2011, but it wasn't until this February that he fully understood the magnitude of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry.

Is there anything better than Opening Day of baseball season?

For thousands of state workers, today is a holiday, the observance of César Chávez's birthday. For millions of baseball fans, it's a holiday, too – Opening Day.

By all appearances, especially when seen through the prism of their rivals' activity to the south, the Giants were largely content to stand pat this winter in the aftermath of their second World Series championship in three seasons.

Earlier this spring, before a team workout at the A's facility in Phoenix, manager Bob Melvin began answering a simple question – Who's your second baseman? – and wound up delving into organizational philosophy.

One adjustment that A's infielder Eric Sogard made over the offseason – slightly bigger lenses, tortoiseshell frames.

The Giants announced their Opening Day roster Saturday, opting to proceed with three catchers rather than five outfielders and including third baseman Pablo Sandoval as an active member.

That the 2012 A's met their end at the right arm of Justin Verlander, in Game 5 of the American League Division Series in which the Tigers' ace struck out 11 batters in a shutout, was somewhat fitting.

A lot hinges on whether Hanley Ramirez's return to shortstop is successful. He appeared hesitant there after the Dodgers obtained him last July 25 from Miami, where he had moved to third base.

Texas is waiting for the return of fifth starter Colby Lewis (6-6, 3.43 ERA in 16 starts before surgery), the veteran right-hander who could be back from elbow surgery by the end of May.

Every Giants fan knows the tale of Hunter Pence and the fiery speech, which helped spur the team back from the brink of elimination in last year's National League Division Series.

Last July 31, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt went hitless in three at-bats against the New York Mets to cap a trying month.

As a major-league player for 16 seasons and a manager for 15 before joining the A's as a special adviser in 2011, Phil Garner has experience behind him when he says that the "general paradigm of most players in the big leagues is … they would rather get a chance to play every day."

If you are looking for some early favorites to contend this baseball season, there’s a new gold rush, though this time it’s mainly in Southern California.

A year ago, Buster Posey was working his way back from a severe ankle injury, returning to getting in and out of his catcher's squat and running the bases, in what he described Friday as "a very day-to-day situation for a while."

Not two full years had passed since the ticker tape fell on the first World Series parade through San Francisco before the Giants were rolling through the city's streets again last fall, their second championship trophy in three seasons in tow.

In talking about the goals for his final Cactus League start, Ryan Vogelsong also summed up the Giants' main concern for the lengthy spring.

A court order unsealed Wednesday requires Yoenis Cespedes to pay 22 percent of the value of the contract he signed with the A's to the former agent who helped him secure the deal.

The A's infield situation became a bit less jumbled Tuesday when utilityman Adam Rosales was placed on the disabled list because of a strained left ribcage muscle and shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima strained his left hamstring.

Today is the final day in Arizona for the Giants and A's before returning to the Bay Area for the three-game Bay Bridge series beginning Thursday, a day off Sunday, then their season openers Monday.

The Giants are one game from heading home, and they might do so with the World Series MVP back in the lineup.

Nick Noonan left camp quietly on March 15, his name lost amid a flurry of moves that included the reassignments of top prospects Gary Brown and Heath Hembree, and the manager's son, Brett Bochy.

Luke, a midtown Sacramento resident and longtime Giants fan, took exception via email last week when I proclaimed the 49ers as the most beloved pro sports team in Northern California.

The Giants got one step closer to reuniting their Opening Day lineup, then took two steps back.

Second baseman Jemile Weeks has gone from one of the favored few to one of the early exits at the A's spring training camp.

Tim Lincecum was happy he reached 80 pitches Saturday against the A's, putting him in line to be ready for a full workload when he makes his season debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 3.

Manager Bruce Bochy often stops Brandon Belt before games and playfully asks, "What are you going to do today?" Belt has a go-to response.

On a day when the Giants made another round of minor cuts, two high-profile reinforcements returned to camp. Center fielder Angel Pagan and reliever Santiago Casilla rejoined the Giants after facing off in the World Baseball Classic championship game, which was won by Casilla's Dominican Republic squad.

Grant Balfour normally pitches the ninth inning, but Thursday he pitched the sixth in the A's 10-9 win over Cincinnati.

Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro makes it look so easy at the plate that you can't blame some of his teammates for trying to duplicate his approach. But as outfielder Gregor Blanco learned this spring, Scutaro's swing isn't for everybody.

Five and a half months after Gehrig John Neshek stopped breathing and died only 23 hours after his birth, his parents are just beginning to learn to breathe again.

The rain falling at AT&T Park since the third inning had subsided, replaced by confetti that settled around the feet of Moises Alou.

Of the injured Giants, manager Bruce Bochy considers Hector Sanchez the most uncertain to be fully healed by Opening Day.