OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kobe Bryant walked out of the visitor’s locker room to a few dozen fans waiting with hugs and handshakes for the Los Angeles Lakers’ star and a circle of reporters ready to stick a microphone near his face.
Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber also took his turn to smile for a photo with No. 24.
Even when he doesn’t play, everything in Lakerland still revolves around Bryant.
Soon, it really will again.
Andrew Bynum had 31 points and nine rebounds, Pau Gasol recorded a triple-double and Los Angeles beat the undermanned Warriors 99-87 Wednesday night in what should be its last game without the injured Bryant.
The Lakers’ franchise player pronounced himself pain-free and ready to return Friday night at surging San Antonio — which handed the Lakers their worst loss of the season a night earlier —and his team better for his seven-game absence because of a bruised left shin.
“It’s been good to see how much the guys have progressed in doing things they ordinarily would not try to do,” Bryant said. “Now when I’m not out there, you have to do other things. You have to experiment with your game, and they had a great deal of success with that and their confidence is at a high level, which is great.”
Los Angeles aced its last test — albeit an easy one — without its star.
Gasol finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Lakers build a 17-point lead by the second quarter and cruise to the win — and much-needed after Tuesday’s 112-91 home loss to San Antonio. The victory kept the Lakers a half-game ahead of the Clippers in the Pacific Division.
“I’m so happy to have Kobe back — if he comes back,” said teammate Metta World Peace, who had 18 points and nine assists. “Get him back in shape. I came here to play with Kobe. I know what type of player Kobe is, and I want to win some rings.”
Los Angeles still had several lapses and often looked lethargic playing the second night in a row.
But Bynum and Gasol dominated whenever the twin 7-footers wanted against Golden State’s fraud of a frontline, tipping balls around the rim — it seemed they were playing volleyball against each other at times. Bynum scored 17 points in the first quarter, including a one-handed dunk off an uncontested lob from Steve Blake.
Bynum and Gasol combined to go 15 for 15 on free throws.
Blake’s reverse layup highlighted a 15-4 run to start the second quarter, giving the Lakers a 47-30 lead that allowed them to coast the rest of the way. Golden State had brief bursts, slicing the lead to only eight at the half, but Los Angeles never had to be at its best — or full strength — to complete a sweep of the teams’ four-game season series.
The Lakers finished with a season-high 34 assists.
“That’s always a point of emphasis,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said. “For us, we don’t always have guys who can create off the dribble, so we try to go through our bigs and get some guys some looks if the ball goes inside-out. Our guys did a great job of sharing the ball all night.”
Just the kind of performance Los Angeles has been striving for all season.
With no chance of catching Oklahoma City or San Antonio for the Western Conference’s second seed, holding off its Staples Center co-tenants and getting Bryant ready for the playoffs is paramount. Bryant did some shooting and running drills about three hours before tipoff, saying he’s “full-weight bearing. I’m good.”
The Lakers landed in just the right place for a turnaround game.
Golden State scored the final seven points against the Lakers’ third-string to make the final score seem close.
Klay Thompson scored 17 points and Dorell Wright had 12 points and seven rebounds for a Warriors team wrapping up the end of another sorry season. Despite rookie coach Mark Jackson’s playoff promise, Golden State has lost 18 of its past 22 games.
The Warriors played without starters David Lee (strained groin) and Andris Biedrins (mild concussion) and backup point guard Nate Robinson (right hamstring). Andrew Bogut (fractured left ankle) and Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle) have long been out for the season.
That forced Jackson — who started all three of the team’s draft picks this season along with reserve center Mickell Gladness, who was originally signed to a 10-day contract in late March — to refute questions again about the franchise intentionally losing to protect its first-round draft pick.
Utah holds the pick this year as part of a previous trade, and the only way the Warriors keep it is if they finish in the bottom seven of the league after the draft lottery. Golden State entered the night in eighth.
“I’m a man with tremendous faith. I don’t look at where I’m at I look at where I’m going and where I’m going to be,” Jackson said. “As long as you don’t get caught up in where you are then it’s very easy to stay excited about the promise (of the future). I know where I’m headed.”
NOTES: Curry said he likely won’t test his ankle fully for at least another month. … Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis sat courtside wearing white pants and a white long-sleeve shirt with the team’s logo.
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Roy Halladay outlasted Tim Lincecum in a matchup of two-time Cy Young Award winners, leading the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Monday night.
Halladay (3-0) struck out six and allowed seven hits in eight innings on a crisp and cool spring night along the bay. He also had an RBI single in a rematch of aces from the 2010 NL championship series.
Laynce Nix’s two-run double highlighted a four-run first off Lincecum (0-2) that produced all the power Philadelphia needed. The Phillies chased San Francisco’s shaggy-haired and struggling right-hander after he gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save in three chances this season.
A rare gathering between two of baseball’s best never lived up to the billing.
The pitching matchup was the first regular-season meeting of multiple Cy Young Award winners since Johan Santana and Randy Johnson on May 16, 2009. It also was the first time Halladay and Lincecum — who split two matchups in the memorable NL championship series the Giants won in six games en route to a World Series title — faced each other in the regular season.
Only one still resembled an ace.
Lincecum, coming off the worst outing of his career, has given up more runs in the first inning this season (nine) than he did all of last (eight). Halladay had only been nicked for one run and seven hits total in home wins against Pittsburgh and Miami previously.
Philadelphia backed its ace with all the run support he needed before Lincecum could even record two outs.
Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino each singled home a run and Nix smacked a two-run double in the first to give the Phillies a quick 4-0 lead. By the time Lincecum recovered from the 30-pitch inning, the damage had been done.
Halladay worked out of a jam in the first, allowing only Aubrey Huff’s sacrifice fly to right. The pitcher even lined a run-scoring single in the fourth.
After Lincecum’s RBI grounder in the fourth sliced Philadelphia’s lead to 5-2, Pence picked up Halladay with a leaping grab against the right-field wall on a slicing fly by Angel Pagan to save a run.
An announced sellout of 41,136 fans had little else to get excited for other than watching one of baseball’s best.
Halladay baffled hitters with a mix of devastating fastballs and late-breaking curves. He struck out Brandon Belt looking with two on to end the fifth, and closed out the eighth in order after a leadoff single to Buster Posey.
The Giants suddenly have more concerns at the top of the rotation than its batting order.
Lincecum was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits and two walks in just 2 1-3 innings — the shortest outing of his career — in San Francisco’s 17-8 loss at Colorado last week. He has allowed 16 runs and 22 hits in 13 2-3 innings this season.
NOTES: Giants 2B Freddy Sanchez complained of soreness in his surgically repaired right shoulder after a toss during an extended spring training game in Arizona on Monday. Manager Bruce Bochy said the team will push Sanchez’s rehab start in Class A San Jose back at least two days to Thursday. … A moment of silence was held before the game for the one crew member who died and four others still missing from the wreck of the yacht Low Speed Chase near the Farallon Islands off San Francisco on Saturday, including former Giants bat girl Alexis Busch. … Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus, who had elbow soreness during at the beginning of spring training, threw about 30 pitches Monday against live hitters. He’ll pitch again Thursday.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner had no intentions of waiting for free agency.
The quiet left-hander with a loud fastball and a dominating presence on the mound has risen rapidly through the ranks for the San Francisco Giants. No reason to put off a pay raise, either.
Bumgarner and the Giants agreed to a new $35.56 million, six-year contract through the 2017 season Monday, locking up the lefty through arbitration and his first year of free agency.
“Now I can go out there and just pitch,” he said. “It kind of took the weight off my shoulders.”
The deal includes $560,000 in base salary this season, $35 million in new money over the next five years and $12 million options for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The options can escalate to $14 million if he finishes in the top three for the NL Cy Young Award or $16 million if he wins the honor, said his agent, Tom Little.
The move keeps San Francisco’s top three starters — Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Bumgarner — under contract at least through next season.
“We’ve made no secret of our strategy. Our strategy is to lock up as many homegrown players as we can,” Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to be able to lock up every homegrown player.”
San Francisco is off to a solid start.
The 22-year-old Bumgarner, squeezed between Lincecum and Cain in the rotation, helped form the starting pitching trio that carried the Giants to the 2010 World Series title. He has a 3.12 ERA and a 21-20 record in three-plus seasons in San Francisco and is still polishing his pitches.
The move was the latest step toward management’s offseason goal to keep the star pitchers together beyond this season.
Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, agreed to a $40.5 million, two-year contract in late January. And Cain signed a $127.5 million, six-year contract — the largest deal for a right-handed pitcher in baseball history — earlier this month.
Giants vice present of baseball operations Bobby Evans said the team also spoke with representatives for Lincecum and star catcher Buster Posey earlier in the day to reaffirm the franchise’s commitment to signing long-term deals with both. However, he doesn’t expect anything to get done during the season, as is the case in most years.
“We see the future in both those guys, too,” Evans said, “and it’s important to us to make sure they know that.”
Bumgarner has been an important cog.
The Giants drafted the lefty 10th overall in 2007, and it didn’t take long for him to make a splash. At 20 years and 38 days old, Bumgarner became the franchise’s youngest pitcher to start a game in his major league debut since the Giants moved from New York in 1958.
A year later, he became the fifth-youngest pitcher to start a World Series game and fourth-youngest to win one at just 21 years and 91 days old when San Francisco beat Texas for the city’s first championship.
“It’s hard to believe he’s 22 years old,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “To have two-fifths of our rotation tied up (long term), that’s always a good thing. We always talk about special talent throwing a baseball, but his makeup is off the charts.”
Bumgarner is on his way to making San Francisco special.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder finished 11th in the NL last year with a 3.21 ERA and reached the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career. Bumgarner struck out 191 and walked 46 last season.
His 8.40 strikeouts per nine innings in 2011 also was the third-best ratio among all NL left-handed pitchers behind Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw (9.57) and Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee (9.21) — both previous Cy Young Award winners.
Bumgarner is 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA in his first two starts this year. Fittingly, his next outing comes against Philadelphia on Tuesday night opposite right-hander Joe Blanton, a member of what many consider to be baseball’s best rotation, which includes Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.
“Who knows how good we can be?” Bumgarner said. “I think we can be just as good, if not better.”
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AP Sports Writer Ron Blum in New York contributed to this story.
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Follow Antonio Gonzalez at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes announced his presence as a big-time player in the first series of his major league career.
Once again, the Oakland Athletics are still waiting to do the same.
Cespedes rebounded after misplaying a ball in center field to hit his third home run of the season, but Oakland’s rally from seven runs down came up just short in an 8-7 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.
“It’s not normal for a rookie,” Cespedes said of his simmering start. “I’m just happy because I feel lucky to hit three home runs in my first four games. I never did that before in Cuba.”
If only Oakland’s pitching staff could keep it close enough to make the runs count.
Chone Figgins finished a home run short of the cycle and every Mariners starter had a hit, overcoming a shaky outing from ace Felix Hernandez.
Figgins’ two-run double off Bartolo Colon (1-1) highlighted a six-run fourth — helped by Cespedes misplaying a ball earlier in the inning — to give Seattle a 7-0 lead. Ichiro Suzuki also had two hits and an RBI and Kyle Seager singled twice as the Mariners took the season-opening series 3-1, splitting the first two in Japan and taking both in Oakland.
“We didn’t play very well early in the game, but we preserved and made up for it later,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We played good defense after that. It’s not an inning certainly, you’d use as a teaching clinic. But you have to get past it, don’t put your head down and keep playing, there’s a lot of game left, and we played better in the second half of the game.”
Just too many mistakes too early.
Cespedes atoned for his mistake with a three-run homer against reliever Steve Delabar, the third long ball in four games by the powerful Cuban defector. He also hit a towering shot to center a night earlier in his stateside debut.
Hernandez (1-0) gave up six runs on eight hits in 6 1-3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. Brandon League pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save this season, one of four Seattle relievers to hold off Oakland’s comeback.
A night after chasing Brandon McCarthy in five innings, Seattle quickly pounced on another A’s starter.
Colon allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings, struggling to keep the ball down against a patient Mariners offense. He still seemed to be in control early, striking out three and walking none.
“Maybe it was because the first time (in Japan), they don’t see me too much,” Colon said. “And now, they see me again, and they probably checked a lot of videos and find out the best way to make contact.”
One misjudgment is all it took to spark the Seattle offense.
With a runner on first in the fourth, Cespedes broke in two steps on a line drive to center by Suzuki until he realized the ball was carrying fast in the thin Bay Area air. He hustled back, leaped for a catch and the ball clipped the top of his glove for a run-scoring triple that started a Seattle surge.
“I saw the ball well of the bat, but the way the ball was coming, I lost it a little bit in the stands,” Cespedes said. “And when I tried to go back, it was too late.”
The Mariners sent 10 batters to the plate during the six-run inning. The last came when Figgins lined a two-run double to right that extended Seattle’s lead to 7-0, bringing out boos for the second straight night from a frustrated fan base that’s letting out its displeasure even earlier this season.
This time, Oakland didn’t go out with a whimper.
Hernandez hit Cespedes in the back — the Cuban said he was “100 percent sure” it was intentional after he stared at his homer a night earlier — to load the bases in the bottom of the forth, then forced three fly outs to end the inning. Seth Smith’s sacrifice fly to center put Oakland on the board.
The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner never looked in rhythm, and the A’s finally made him pay late.
Jemile Weeks sent an 0-1 fastball over the left field fence in the fifth, and Kurt Suzuki doubled to drive in a pair of runs in the sixth, slicing Seattle’s lead to 8-4 after Michael Saunders hit a solo home run in the top of the inning.
Hernandez was lifted with an out in the seventh after allowing a pair of singles, giving Oakland’s only power source a chance to bat with baserunners. And he didn’t disappoint — again.
Cespedes clobbered a three-run homer to right-center — not quite the soaring shot he clocked off the second-deck facade in center Friday — off Delabar to bring Oakland with a run. But the A’s never even put another runner on base over the final seven outs.
NOTES: Weeks’ twisted his left ankle running out a ground out in the ninth. His ankle was wrapped up in the clubhouse but said he should be fine. … Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson attended Oakland’s batting practice with two of his young children. … Both teams are off Sunday off. Seattle will start RHP Hector Noesi on Monday at Texas, which has Japanese sensation Yu Darvish set to make his major league debut. LHP Tom Milone is scheduled to start for the A’s on Monday when they host Kansas City, which will have righty Luis Mendoza on the mound.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Chone Figgins finished a home run short of the cycle and every Seattle Mariners batter had a hit, backing a shaky start from ace Felix Hernandez to beat the Oakland Athletics 8-7 on Saturday night.
Figgins’ two-run double off Bartolo Colon (1-1) highlighted a six-run fourth-inning — helped by a center fielder Yoenis Cespedes misplaying a ball — to give Seattle a 7-0 lead. Ichiro Suzuki also had two hits and an RBI and Kyle Seager singled twice as the Mariners took the season-opening series 3-1 — the first two games were played in Japan.
Cespedes atoned for his mistake with a three-run homer against reliever Steve Delabar, the third long ball in four games by the powerful Cuban defector.
Hernandez (1-0) gave up six runs on eight hits in 6 1-3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. Brandon League pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save this season.
A night after chasing Brandon McCarthy in five innings, Seattle quickly pounced on another A’s starter.
Colon allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings, struggling to keep the ball down against a patient Mariners offense. He still seemed to be in control early, striking out three and walking none.
One misjudgment is all it took to spark the Seattle offense.
With a runner on first in the fourth, Cespedes broke in two steps on a line drive to center by Suzuki until he realized the ball was carrying fast in the thin Bay Area air. He hustled back, leaped for a catch and the ball clipped the top of his glove for a run-scoring triple that started a Seattle surge.
The Mariners sent 10 batters to the plate during the six-run inning. The last came when Figgins lined a two-run double to right that extended Seattle’s lead to 7-0, bringing out boos for the second straight night from a frustrated fan base that’s letting out its displeasure even earlier this season.
This time, Oakland didn’t go out with a whimper.
Hernandez hit Cespedes in the back to load the bases in the bottom of the forth, then forced three fly outs to end the inning — Seth Smith’s sacrifice fly to center put Oakland on the board. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner never looked in rhythm, and the A’s finally made him pay late.
Jemile Weeks sent an 0-1 fastball over the left field fence in the fifth, and Kurt Suzuki doubled to drive in a pair of runs in the sixth, slicing Seattle’s lead to 8-4 after Michael Saunders hit a solo home run in the top of the inning.
Hernandez was lifted with an out in the seventh after allowing a pair of singles, giving Oakland’s only power source a chance to bat with baserunners. And he didn’t disappoint — again. Cespedes clobbered a three-run homer to right-center — not quite the soaring shot he clocked off the second-deck facade in center a night earlier — off Steve Delabar to bring Oakland with a run. But the A’s never even put another runner on base over the final seven outs.
Seattle’s 3-1 start still has to feel sweet considering it has racked up more mileage than anybody so far.
The Mariners opened spring training in Peoria, Ariz., on Feb. 11 and will not return to Seattle until Friday. They traveled to Japan along with the A’s for a series that began with a two-game split March 28-29, played the last week of the spring training scheduled and resumed up the final two games Friday night in Oakland.
NOTES: Munenori Kawasaki’s RBI single in the fourth was hit first major league hit. He replaced SS Brendan Ryan, a late scratch because of a stiff neck. Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Ryan’s neck stiffness is not related to last season’s neck injury. “He just slept wrong,” Wedge said. … Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson attended Oakland’s batting practice with two of his young children. … Both teams are off Sunday off. Seattle will start RHP Hector Noesi on Monday at Texas, which has Japanese sensation Yu Darvish set to make his major league debut. LHP Tom Milone is scheduled to start for the A’s on Monday when they host Kansas City, which will have righty Luis Mendoza on the mound.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Josh Donaldson started to show signs in the final exhibition that he might be a reliable replacement to Scott Sizemore, after all.
Donaldson hit two homers and drove in five runs off Yusmeiro Petit, and the Oakland Athletics avoided a Bay Bridge Series sweep with an 8-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
Sizemore tore a ligament in his left knee during Oakland’s first full-squad workout this spring training, ending his season and thrusting Donaldson into the starting third baseman spot before a game had been played. Donaldson finished 4 for 5 in the finale, pushing his batting average up to .270.
An otherwise quiet ending for San Francisco this spring training still had a bright spot.
Buster Poster, receiving rousing ovations from fans every time his name was announced, cleared another milestone with an RBI single in the first. Both were firsts at AT&T Park for the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year since a brutal season-ending collision at home plate last year with Florida’s Scott Cousins.
Posey had been 0 for 2 with two walks in Monday night’s exhibition in San Francisco. He also added a double in the fourth in the last spring training game.
A sun-soaked day at San Francisco’s cozy waterfront ballpark still belonged to an unproven slugger from across the bay.
After a so-so spring training, Donaldson smacked a two-run shot to left in the second to put Oakland ahead 2-1. He followed with a three-run homer to deep left-center in the third off Petit for his only long balls this spring training.
Donaldson’s latest go-around in the Bay Area figures to last a little longer than his first.
Originally a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs, Donaldson was traded to Oakland in a deal for pitcher Rich Harden in 2008. He briefly played for the A’s in 2010 and hadn’t done much since.
Sizemore was acquired by Oakland last May in a trade with Detroit. He hit .249 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs in 93 games with Oakland.
The 26-year-old Donaldson wasn’t the only A’s hitter to suddenly find some pop in a lineup that rarely shows any of it.
Jonny Gomes — from nearby Petaluma — also hit a solo home run earlier in the third, helping Oakland build an 8-1 lead and coasting the rest of the way. Brian Wilson retired both batters he faced in the eighth, all the work Giants manager Bruce Bochy wanted from his bearded closer in the exhibition finale.
The real games start soon enough.
The Giants open the regular season at defending NL West champion Arizona on Friday. The A’s host Seattle in the last two of a four-game set that began in Japan and was squeezed between the final week of the exhibition schedule.
NOTES: A’s right-handed reliever Joey Devine was still waiting to hear the results from an MRI on his surgically repaired right elbow. Dr. James Andrews was scheduled to read the scan for Devine, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2009 and is experiencing more problems. Devine is already on the DL with right biceps tendinitis and has been shut down for now. He hopes this won’t threaten his season. “This is the story of my life,” Devine said. “It’s just a constant. It’s pretty sore — same symptoms, putting shampoo in my hair, turning a doorknob.” … The A’s optioned RHP Tyson Ross to Triple-A Sacramento. Manager Bob Melvin plans to have Ross return April 17, the first time the A’s will need a fifth starter. … The Giants will open AT&T Park for a free viewing party Friday night so fans can watch the team’s opener at Arizona.
Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum, right, looks for a shot against Golden State Warriors' Mickell Gladness during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 18, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)(Credit: AP) 
San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum works against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, April 16, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)(Credit: AP) 
Seattle Mariners' Kyle Seager slides safely into home plate to score as Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki, left, goes after the ball during the fourth inning of their baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, April 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)(Credit: AP) 
Oakland Athletics' Josh Donaldson hits a three-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit during the third inning of their exhibition baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, April 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)(Credit: AP) 