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Scouting Report:
Giants: Lincecum has not pitched in Houston since Aug. 12, 2008, when a line drive hit by Brad Ausmus struck him in the right knee and forced him to leave the game. At the time, Lincecum was in the middle of one of his typical outings, having allowed only one hit while striking out seven in 4 1/3 innings. Fortunately for Lincecum, and the Giants, he made his next scheduled start en route to his first of two consecutive Cy Young Awards. Lincecum was unusually ineffective in his initial Opening Day start last year, working only three innings and allowing three runs. He joined Sandy Koufax (1966) as the only Cy Young winner to pitch as few as three innings one year after capturing the award. Lifetime, Lincecum is 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA in five starts against Houston.

Astros: Roy Oswalt, who nursed a sore left hamstring in the final 10 days of Spring Training, makes his club-record eighth consecutive Opening Day start. In his seven Opening Day starts, Oswalt is 2-3 with a 3.35 ERA, and the team is 2-5 in those games. Oswalt went 8-6 with a 4.12 ERA last year in 30 starts and had a club record 16 no-decisions. He's 5-5 with a 3.70 ERA in 13 career starts against the Giants and 75-25 in his career at Minute Maid Park. He faced the Giants once last year and held them to three hits and one run and struck out six batters in eight innings July 5 in San Francisco.

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Scouting Report:
Giants: This marks Zito's first attempt to sustain the momentum he established in last year's second half, when he went 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts. That ERA ranked 15th among NL starters. This continued a career-long pattern for Zito, who's 58-66 with a 4.23 ERA before the All-Star break and 75-40, 3.42 afterward. Keeping the ball in the yard is a key factor for Zito, who yielded 13 home runs before the All-Star break and only eight afterward a year ago. Zito has appeared just once in Houston, and it didn't turn out too well. He allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 6-2 San Francisco loss on Aug. 13, 2008.

Astros: Coming off a breakthrough season in which he led the team in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched, Rodriguez will make only his second career appearance against the San Francisco Giants. Rodriguez was 14-12 with a 3.02 ERA last year in 33 starts, including 9-3 in 16 starts with a 2.08 ERA at Minute Maid Park. He has pitched much better at home in his career, going 31-21 with a 3.61 ERA in Houston. His only other appearance against the Giants was in 2006, and he was rocked for 10 hits, 11 runs (six earned) and five walks in 3 2/3 innings.

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Scouting Report:
Giants: Cain will try to continue the progress he made last year, when he was a National League All-Star for the first time. He matched his career-high innings total from 2008 (217 2/3) despite making one fewer start. He trimmed his hits allowed from 206 to 184 and his walks from 91 to 73. But pitching in the clutch was Cain's true hallmark last year. Opponents hit just .161 off him with runners in scoring position. Cain is the first pitcher to work 200 or more innings in three consecutive seasons for the Giants since Livan Hernandez (2000-02). He's 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in four career outings against Houston.

Astros: Brett Myers will make his Astros debut in the series finale against the Giants. He went 4-3 with a 4.84 ERA in 18 games (10 starts) last year for the Philadelphia Phillies, who parted ways with him after the season. Myers signed a one-year, $5.1 million deal with the Astros. In his career at Minute Maid Park, he's 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA in five games (three starts) and is 1-3 with a 6.92 ERA in seven career games (five starts) against the Giants, whom he hasn't faced since 2008.