Athletics (ss) 3, Giants (ss) 2

PHOENIX (AP) -- Brad Hennessey hopes his first start of the spring will lead to a spot in a major league starting rotation. If not in San Francisco, than somewhere else.

Hennessey had a strong outing on Sunday in the Giants' 3-2 split-squad loss to the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, giving up a run on three hits over four innings. He did not issue or walk or record a strikeout. He kept the ball down and recorded nine of his 12 outs in the infield.

This spring Hennessey doesn't see a way into the starting rotation which seems set with Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Matt Morris, Noah Lowry and, likely, Russ Ortiz.

"Russ has pitched well this spring and he pretty much has it locked up," Hennessey said. "There's not a chance to start for the Giants right now. There are other teams out there with plenty of pitching needs. We'll see what happens."

Until last year, the former first-round draft pick made all his professional appearances as a starter. The Giants used him as a swingman, in the rotation for a couple of months and in the bullpen for a couple of months.

"At the end of the year my arm wasn't liking me too much," Hennessey said. "I don't know if there's a way to get used to that. I just had to find a way to make it work. Last year was definitely hard on me and my arm. It took a toll."

That's why he'd prefer to stay with one role, whether it's with the Giants or another team.

Hennessey's quandary is that he was effective out of the bullpen, recording his first professional save among his 26 relief appearances, with an ERA of 3.32, more than 1 1-2 runs better than in his 12 starts.

A's starter Joe Blanton is assured of a job with Oakland, and he allowed two runs on five hits over 3 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out two.

"I fell behind hitters in the first inning but the rest of the game felt decent," Blanton said. "I'm starting to locate my pitches. I know where they are going."

Javier Herrera singled home Donnie Murphy with the winning run in the ninth.

Velez singled against Jay Witasick to drive in another run for San Francisco.

Marco Scutaro and Erubiel Durazo drove in runs for the A's.

In Scottsdale, the other Giants split squad beat the Mariners 8-3. In Tempe, the other Athletics split squad downed the Angels 7-6.

Game notes
The A's are 30-19 against San Francisco over the last 10 exhibition seasons. ... Giants RF Nate Schlerholtz has six hits in his last 12 at bats. ... A's RHP Kaz Tadano made his first appearance in the field, committing two errors on the same play in the ninth. He also drew a walk in his first at bat. ... Triple-A manager Dan Rohn skippered the Giants.