--C Bengie Molina homered twice on Thursday but was out of the lineup Friday because manager Bruce Bochy went with 3B Pablo Sandoval behind the plate. Sandoval has caught LHP Barry Zito three of his past four starts, and the other one was caught by Steve Holm. It's a good indication that Zito feels more comfortable with catchers other than Molina, who will catch both weekend games in L.A.
--RHP Sergio Romo (strained elbow) finally is close to reporting to a minor-league team. He threw an extended spring training game Friday and might throw another one this weekend. If all goes well, he'd report to Class A San Jose. As a rookie last year, Romo was an effective reliever, sporting a 2.12 ERA in 29 games. --SS Brian Bocock, who was in the opening day lineup in 2008 (because SS Omar Vizquel was on the DL), still is having hitting woes. His .171 average at Class AA Connecticut was enough for the Giants to demote him to Class A San Jose when they promoted SS Brandon Crawford.
--RHP Tim Lincecum is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his past four starts. In his first two starts, he gave up seven runs in 8 1/3 innings. So he has his groove back. Overall, he has 50 strikeouts to 12 walks in 38 1/3 innings. At Wrigley Field, he's 3-0 in three career starts, yielding four runs in 21 1/3 innings (1.69 ERA).
BY THE NUMBERS: 10-4 -- Giants' home record. Far better than their 2-7 mark on the road.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I like this team right now. We were 2-7. Now we're at .500. That's something to be proud of." -- Barry Zito, on the on-the-rebound Giants.
