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On the whole, Victoria Royals defenceman Joe Hicketts would rather be in Portland.

HOUSTON - Though no one had told him officially, Oakland's Dan Straily knew after Friday night's start he'd be sent down to Triple-A.

CHICAGO - Tom Wilhelmsen was in trouble. He was everywhere but the strike zone, and the game was slowly slipping away for the Seattle Mariners. Clinging to a one-run lead with no room for error, he found a way to close it out.

ATLANTA - Scott Feldman knew he couldn't afford to make many mistakes against the Atlanta Braves' potent lineup. Unfortunately for Feldman, he was his own worst enemy.

CINCINNATI - Forget about it. That's the only thing the Nationals could do after absorbing their worst loss since they returned to Washington in 2005.

MILWAUKEE - Wade Miley didn't have the best spring for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made up for it in his first regular-season start.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - When Mike Redmond was leaving his office in the visitors' clubhouse in Washington on Thursday, he ditched the unopened bottle of champagne that was reserved for celebrating his first win as a major league manager. Pfft, he thought.

TORONTO - No Jose Bautista, not much of a bullpen and a bushel of errors. It was a tough night for the Blue Jays, who shot themselves in the foot several times en route to a 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS - Rick Adelman's milestone will have to wait — for another day at least. Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan made sure about that.

ATLANTA - Mike Minor had a 6.26 ERA during spring training. But in his first regular-season start, he looked just like the dominant pitcher who ended 2012. "With spring training not going as well, I still had that confidence," Minor said.