Giants Set to Open Season

Opening Day 2010 has officially arrive, as the Giants are just a few hours away from taking on the Houston Astros in Houston, as they send 2-time reigning Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum to the mound vs. Astros' ace Roy Oswalt.

The Giants starting lineup for today's game is as follows:

CF Aaron Rowand
SS Edgar Renteria
3B Pablo Sandoval
1B Aubrey Huff
LF Mark DeRosa
C Bengie Molina
RF John Bowker
2B Juan Uribe
P Tim Lincecum

The only semi-surprise in there would be Bowker getting the nod in right field over Schierholtz, but after the way he finished up in Fresno in 2009, and played during spring training this year, it's tough to argue with Bruce Bochy's decision. Schierholtz brings a more stable defensive presence in right-field, but Bowker has really torn the cover off the ball since last June. And in a Giants lineup that could use all the pop it can get, they are going to give Bowker all the opportunity to translate those AAA numbers into big league production.. Other than that, Boch has decided to go with Edgar Renteria in the second spot in the order with Freddy Sanchez out. Renteria will probably be on a short leash this year once Sanchez does return, especially if Uribe keeps swinging the bat like he did last year. As a matter of fact, both the guys at the top of the lineup for the Giants really do hold the key to the offense's success. If Rowand and Renteria can get on consistently enough in-front of Sandoval, Huff, DeRosa, Molina and Bowker, then the Giants offense should be just fine, but that is a big "if" though.

The Giants have a better all-around team than the Astros, and I expect them to take this series, although it's going to be a good test early for their offense. They face two of the better arms in the NL in Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez in the first two games, then get Brett Myers, who's always been pretty tough on the Giants, going in game 3. I like the way Huff, DeRosa and Sandoval have all been swinging lately, and I believe at least one of them will go deep in the opener. Hopefully Timmy's rough spring training performance doesn't carry over into the regular season. The Giants have always faired decently vs. Oswalt so I think the Giants will pull it off in a close one, 6-5. Keep an eye on Lincecum's velocity though, cause if he pitches like he did during the spring, it won't matter that he's 2-0 with a 1.67 era, just 16 hits allowed and 40 strikeouts in 31+ innings in his career vs. Houston.

We'll be back tonight after the game with a small post-game wrap post, so be sure to check us out and drop your opinion on what the Giants looked like on opening day in our comment box!