Lincecum dominates, but Angels rally past Giants; A's roll

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) " Tim Lincecum is dominating hitters this spring the same way he did last season.

The 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner pitched three hitless innings for the San Francisco Giants in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, giving him a total of seven scoreless innings in three exhibition starts.

Brad Coon hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to win it for the Angels in front of their first big crowd this spring (7,364).

"I've just been pretty lucky that pretty much everything has been going as smoothly as they have been," said Lincecum, who went 18-5 with a 2.65 ERA and a major league-high 265 strikeouts last year.

Lincecum said he can hear it when everything's working well in the bullpen before a game.

"Usually, if I can hear the ball " for some reason Major League Baseball balls make more noise than any other baseballs " I feel like I've got some life on the ball," he said, noting that he's working on several things this spring.

"You've got to take it with a grain of salt," he added. "It's spring training. It's a time for us to get better. It's nice to go out and get three up and three down in the innings. That helps with confidence and that helps with the mental part of the game. It just gets you right."

The outing was Lincecum's second consecutive three-inning stint without allowing a hit.

Athletics 12, Mariners 1

PHOENIX " Jason Giambi hoped to get a few hits. Instead, he got hit a few times.

Giambi was plunked by a pitch three times Friday, prompting the plate umpire to issue a warning in the Oakland Athletics' 12-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

"I got that out of the way," Giambi said. "I was wondering when I would be able to swing the bat. I don't sweat it, I know it was nothing on purpose."

Giambi was hit in the forearm, the back and the triceps.

"I spread them out," he said.

Giambi was twice plunked by Jarrod Washburn and brushed it off both times. When Giambi was hit by David Aardsma in the fifth inning, umpire Ed Montague warned the teams.

"I hit him twice with the same pitch," Washburn said after allowing four runs and seven hits in 1 1-3 innings. "I get along with Jason and I feel bad but maybe it will plant a seed."

Matt Holliday had two hits and drove in two runs, Kurt Suzuki had two hits and an RBI and Eric Chavez also drove in a run against Washburn.

Rajai Davis was 4-for-4 with two doubles and scored three runs for the A's.

"We threw 175 pitches in eight innings," Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said. "That wasn't good but that's what exhibition baseball is. You take the bad with the good."

Giambi was glad to see his boyhood pal and former Olympic teammate Nomar Garciaparra running around the clubhouse in an A's shirt. Garciaparra and shortstop Orlando Cabrera joined the Athletics this week.

"He can play first, third, anywhere," Giambi said of Garciaparra. "I gave him input on why we could use him. It will be fun this year. I know Orlando, too. Everywhere he's been, he's won. He can do it all."

A's manager Bob Geren said he met with A's incumbent shortstop Bobby Crosby about a new role.

"He will have to learn how to play other positions, similar to Nomar," Geren said. "He understands the situation."

Washburn allowed one hit in his first three innings using nothing but fastballs. He started mixing in his other pitches and the results were a little different.

"I don't think it was as bad as it looked," Washburn said. "It still wasn't one of my better games. Things like this get you ready for the season when you have to make adjustments on the fly and figure out what is wrong. It gets your mind working again." Notes: The A's have not set a timetable to get Cabrera and Garciaparra into the lineup. ... Mariners DH Mike Sweeney is expected to play in his first game Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... Ken Griffey Jr. and Adrian Beltre took part in a simulated game. ... A's RHP Justin Duchscherer will rest his sore elbow until next week. ... A's IF Javier Herrera had two hits and scored twice. Aardsma and RHP Tyler Walker each threw a scoreless inning for the Mariners. ... A's RHP Vin Mazzaro extended his scoreless inning streak to five. He has seven strikeouts.