Red Sox Notes: Bard, Lester, Padilla  —  The last time the Red Sox played a regular season game, they lost to the Orioles and the 2011 season ended in heart-breaking fashion.  They'll look to start the 2012 season off with a win when they take on the defending AL Central champions in Detroit this afternoon.

Halladay cruises, Phillies beat Pirates 1-0  —  PITTSBURGH—If only Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies had gotten this 1-0 win last October.  —  Halladay was nearly flawless for eight innings Thursday and the Phillies showed off their pitching from the start, opening a new season by edging the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Blue Jays triumph in longest opening day game in baseball history  —  J.P. Arencibia's three-run homer in the 16th inning sent the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday in the longest opening-day game in major league history.  —  Arencibia was for 6 …

Wainwright impressed by Cain's deal  —  Image  —  MIAMI  • Adam Wainwright was preparing to hit a drive Monday afternoon when he paused to scan a text message from his brother, Trey.  —  The text was rather matter of fact: The San Francisco Giants had just signed righthanded starting …

Flu knocks Kershaw out of Dodgers' opener  —  SAN DIEGO — Dodgers Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw was removed from his Opening Day start in the fourth inning on Thursday against the Padres with the stomach flu.  —  Kershaw, appearing stiff and struggling to reach 90 mph with his fastball …

Indians hope Sizemore can return in June  —  CLEVELAND — The Indians are holding out hope that Grady Sizemore will be able to help them at some point this summer.  If the sidelined center fielder does return to the lineup, it will not be until the first week of June at the earliest.

Cueto leads Reds over Marlins 4-0  —  CINCINNATI—Jay Bruce homered and drove in a pair of runs, and Johnny Cueto dominated in his first opening-day start, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday before one of their biggest crowds.

Rays place Farnsworth on disabled list  —  ST. PETERSBURG — As expected, the Rays placed right-hander Kyle Farnsworth on the disabled list Thursday with a strained right elbow.  —  To take Farnsworth's place, Tampa Bay recalled right-hander Josh Lueke from Triple-A Durham.

Rest of baseball catching up with big spenders  —  NEW YORK—The rest of baseball is starting to catch up with the big spenders.  —  The Miami Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels all had hefty boosts in payroll during the offseason along with the Tampa Bay Rays …

Friday lineup, with a few surprises  —  The Rays set their lineup for Friday's opener against Yankees LHP CC Sabathia, and it has a few surprises:  —  Jennings cf  —  Zobrist rf  —  Longoria 3b  —  Keppinger DH  —  Rodriguez ss  —  Johnson 2b  —  Pena 1b  —  Molina c  —  Joyce lf

Rays Claim John Gaub  —  The Rays have claimed left-hander John Gaub off of waivers, the Cubs announced.  The Cubs also announced that they placed right-hander Marcos Mateo on the 60-day disabled list to create 40-man roster space.  —  Gaub, 26, appeared in four games for the 2011 Cubs …