Giants vs. Twins, MLB Scores: Tim Lincecum K's 12 in 2-1 Giants Win over the Twins

It’s been a few starts since we’ve seen the dominating Tim Lincecum out on the mound, but he was absolutely lights out against the Minnesota Twins this afternoon at AT&T. Timmy fanned 12 Twinkies en route to a 2-1 win for the San Francisco Giants.

Lincecum (W 6-6) held Minnesota to only three hits over his seven innings of scoreless ball with all of his strikeouts coming on a swinging strike three. Catcher Chris Stewart called Timmy’s outing this afternoon ‘disgusting’ (in a good way) and absolutely had no-hitter stuff by the Cove today.

Then came the bullpen with Javy Lopez throwing a perfect eighth inning, followed by Brian Wilson in the ninth to add some classic Giants torture. After walking Alexi Casilla, Wilson gave up an RBI double to Michael Cuddyer to make the score 2-1. Then Luke Hughes shot a spicy grounder to Pablo at third, who sprinted Cuddyer back towards second, laying out to to get the tag and the final out of the game. It was Wilson’s 21st save of the year, and one of his most exciting.

The Giants offense struggled once again going only 2-9 with runners in scoring postion. But those two hits were huge as Miguel Tejada hit an RBI ground out in the second, then didn’t score again until and RBI single from Cody Ross in the eighth gave the Giants some much needed insurance. Tejada and Aaron Rowand were both 2-3 for the day, Aubrey Huff was 1-4 with a double, while Pat Burrell was 1-2 with a double and a walk.

Brian Duensing (L 4-7) took the loss for the Twins with 6 2/3 innings of work, allowing six hits and only the one earned run along with two walks and five strikeouts.

With the win the Giants move to 41-34 on the year. Full box score can be found here.

The Giants will host the Cleveland Indians starting Friday with Jonathan Sanchez (4-5 3.71 ERA) taking the hill for San Francisco and Carlos Carrasco (7-3 3.87 ERA).

Giants vs. Twins, Starting Lineups: Pat Burrell Gets a Start, Joe Mauer Gets a Day Off

The an Francisco Giants have rebounded well from their 9-2 drubbing by the hands of the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, and are looking for a series win Thursday behind two time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum.

As for the lineups Bill Hall will get the start at second, batting second, while Aaron Rowand gets his second straight start in left field. Pat Burrell hasn’t been in the starting lineup for a while now, but will today in left field, batting sixth.

As for the Twins, catcher Joe Mauer will get the day off behind the plate as Rene Rivera will catch Brian Duensing and bat seventh.

Your San Francisco Giants:

1. Aaron Rowand CF
2. Bill Hall 2B
3. Aubrey Huff 1B
4. Cody Ross RF
5. Pablo Sandoval 3B
6. Pat Burrell LF
7. Miguel Tejada SS
8. Chris Stewart C
9. Tim Lincecum P

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Alexi Casilla 2B
3. Michael Cuddyer RF
4. Delmon Young LF
5. Danny Valencia 3B
6. Luke Hughes 1B
7. Rene Rivera C
8. Matt Tolbert SS
9. Brian Duensing P

First pitch is set for 12:45 p.m. with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

Giants vs. Twins Preview: Tim Lincecum Takes The Mound Looking for Series Win

Now that the San Francisco Giants have ended their five game losing skid behind another brilliant performance by Ryan Vogelsong, they will turn to the top of their rotation as TIm Lincecum will take the mound against the Minnesota Twins at AT&T Park.

Lincecum (5-6 3.39 ERA) struggled a bit as of late, racking up back to back loses in his previous two starts. But Timmy always seems to fare well at home, and is facing a team without a lot of previous experience against him, which usually leans in the pitcher’s favor.

Timmy will take on Brian Duensing (4-6 4.82 ERA) for the Twins, who is coming off a win against the San Diego Padres, holding them to two runs in six innings of work.

First pitch is set for 12:45 p.m. PT this afternoon with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants head over to McCovey Chronicles.

Giants vs. Twins, MLB Scores: Ryan Vogelsong Dominant Yet Again As Giants Snap Losing Streak

Although Ryan Vogelsong has only been on the 25-man roster since early May, the 33-year old righty has established himself as the best story of the San Francisco Giants season. He continued his dominant 2010 campaign throwing seven innings of one run ball in a 5-1 Giants victory. The win snapped San Francisco’s five game losing streak.

Vogelsong continued his campaign to earn a completely unexpected All Star Game bid, as he retired the first twelve batters he faced. He finally gave up a leadoff single to Michael Cuddyer in the fifth inning but worked his way out of a first and second jam. The only smudge on an otherwise impressive night came in the seventh inning when Tsuyoshi Nishioka reached on an infield single that scored Cuddyer.

The Giants managed just enough run support early on for Vogelsong after Eli Whiteside plated two runners with a triple in the second. Whiteside added an RBI single in the sixth inning and Aubrey Huff hit an RBI single in the seventh to complete the scoring.

Vogelsong currently stands 1 1/3 inning short of the necessary total to qualify for the ERA title. His current 1.86 ERA would tie him with Josh Beckett for the best ERA in baseball. If he can put together a solid start next time around he should reach the necessary innings to qualify as I believe innings needs to equal team games.

The Giants close out their series with the Twins on Thursday afternoon at 12:45pm. Tim Lincecum will look to win his sixth game of the season as he faces Brian Duensing.

Giants vs. Twins, Starting Lineups: Aaron Rowand Starts over Andres Torres, Again

Looks like it’s going to be another beautiful night down in China Basin, now the San Francisco Giants just need to get the fans a win.

Skipper Bruce Bochy will send out the youngsters tonight for the most part as Emmanuel Burriss will bat second and play second, Brandon Crawford will be back at shortstop, batting seventh. Aaron Rowand will get the start in center over Andres Torres, another interesting move that has ‘trade showcase’ written all over it. Torres is 1-18 over the last week or so, but Aaron isn’t doing much better hitting at a 4-18 clip during that span.

Nate Schierholtz and Cody Ross will fill out the outfield battery, while Eli Whiteside will catch Ryan Vogelsong this evening.

Your San Francisco Giants:

1. Aaron Rowand CF
2. Emmanuel Burriss 2B
3. Pablo Sandoval 3B
4. Aubrey Huff 1B
5. Cody Ross LF
6. Nate Schierholtz RF
7. Brandon Crawford SS
8. Eli Whiteside C
9. Ryan Vogelsong P

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Alexi Casilla 2B
3. Joe Mauer C
4. Michael Cuddyer RF
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Danny Valencia 3B
7. Luke Hughes 1B
8. Tsuyoshi Nishioka SS
9. Nick Blackburn P

First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. PT at AT&T Park with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Black and Orange, head on over to McCovey Chronicles to get in on the action.

Giants vs. Twins Preview: Ryan Vogelsong Out to Stop the Bleeding for Giants

After their demolishment at the hands of the Minnesota Twins Tuesday evening the San Francisco Giants have now lost five in a row and need to snap out of it and in a hurry. They’ll turn to Ryan Vogelong to hit the reset button tonight, but it would be nice if the offense could give the Giants pitchers some help.

Over their past five games the G-Men have scored nine runs in 46 innings, and only three runs or less in 13 of their past 17. As a team they have a whopping one hit in their last 32 chances with runners in scoring position. Needless to say, the offense is struggling.

That leaves it up to Vogelsong, (4-1 1.92 ERA) who has one of the best ERA’s in baseball since May, and hopefully will improve on it today. He pitched six innings in his last start versus Arizona while striking out six in a no-decision, but is looking for his fifth win in only his tenth start with the club.

The Twins Nick Blackburn (6-4 3.16 ERA) is trying to extend his scoreless inning streak after he blanked the Rangers for eight innings in his last start in a 1-0 Twinkies victory.

First pitch is set for 7:15 PT this evening with coverage on CSN Bay Area and KNBR 680 AM.

Giants vs. Twins, MLB Scores: Madison Bumgarner Suffers Career Worst Performance

The good news for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday was that their bullpen threw 8 2/3 innings of one run ball. The bad news was that the bullpen work was necessary because the Minnesota Twins lit up starter Madison Bumgarner to the tune of eight runs in 1/3 of an inning as the Giants lost 9-2. The start was the worst of Bumgarner’s short career, exceeding his August 25, 2010 start in which he gave up eight runs over 2 2/3 innings.

The Twins got the scoring going early before many fans had sat down, let alone bought their first beer. Ben Revere led off the first with a single followed by an Alex Casilla double. Three singles and three doubles later it was 6-0 and still nobody out. After Bumgarner struck out pitcher Carl Pavano, Ben Revere came back up and doubled in the seventh and eighth runs of the game.

The Giants added two runs on an Eli Whiteside home run and an Emmanuel Burriss single, but the deficit was too big for them. The loss dropped the Giants to 1/2 game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks who beat the Royals 7-2.

The Giants and Twins head back out Wednesday night at 7:00pm on CSN Bay Area. Ryan Vogelsong will be pitching for his fifth win as he faces Nick Blackburn.

Giants vs. Twins, Starting Lineups: Miguel Tejada Back at Shortstop

As the San Francisco Giants get ready to continue their interleague play, they just happened to be hosting one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. The Minnesota Twins have been on a tear over the past few weeks, winners of their last seven straight and 14 of the last 16. But the Giants are back at AT&T, a place they always seem to have a decided advantage at.

Miguel Tejada is back in the lineup and will be at shortstop this evening, batting second. Aubrey Huff moves back to the clean-up spot, Nate Schierholtz will be in right, Bill Hall at second, and Eli Whiteside behind the dish.

As for the Twinkies Ben Revere will be in center field, leading-off for Minnesota. Michael Cuddyer will bat clean-up with Joe Mauer batting third, and Delmon Young batting fifth. Carl Pavano gets the chance to hit tonight looking to improve on his .145 carrer batting average.

Your San Francisco Giants:

1. Andres Torres CF
2. Miguel Tejada SS
3. Pablo Sandoval 3B
4. Aubrey Huff 1B
5. Cody Ross LF
6. Nate Schierholtz RF
7. Bill Hall 2B
8. Eli Whiteside C
9. Madison Bumgarner P

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Alexi Casilla 2B
3. Joe Mauer C
4. Michael Cuddyer RF
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Danny Valencia 3B
7. Luke Hughes 1B
8. Tsuyoshi Nishioka SS
9. Carl Pavano P

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. PT with converage on CSN Nay Area, MLB Network, and KNBR 680 AM.

Giants vs. Twins Preview: Madison Bumgarner Set to Duel Carl Pavano in Series Opener

For the first time during the 2011 season the San Francisco Giants will have an interleague matchup with a team besides the Oakland A’s. The G-Men head back to AT&T Tuesday night to kick off their series with the Minnesota Twins at a time when both teams are going opposite directions.

The Giants are losers of their last four games, and will send out Madison Bumgarner ( 3-8 3.21 ERA) to try and end the skid. Bummy was the starter for the Giants’ last win with his six innings of work in Arizona on Wednesday. And despite getting a team-low 2.8 runs of support, he’s allowed three or fewer while pitching at least six innings in each of his last 10 starts, posting a 2.03 ERA during that span.

But the G-Men will have their hands full with the Twins Carl Pavano (4-5, 4.20 ERA) Tuesday, as he’s has turned it up a notch the past few weeks. Pavano has thrown two complete games this month, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.44 ERA in his last three starts.

First pitch is set for 7:15 PT with coverage on CSN Bay Area, MLB Network and KNBR 680 AM.

For more on the Giants head on over to McCovey Chronicles.

MLB Standings Update: Despite Losing Streak Giants Remain Atop NL West

It's been a rough week for the San Francisco Giants, losers of fours straight games including being swept across the Bay at the Coliseum by the Oakland A's. But despite all that the G-Men maintained their lead in the NL West, although it has whittled away to almost nothing. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks had the opportunity to jump into first place in the NL West but are also losers of their last two games against the White Sox, remaining a half a game back of the Giants. The Rockies were in a battle with the Tigers at Coors Field over the weekend, taking the final game of the series to remain only 3 games out of first place.

As for the Dodgers they took two out of three against the Astros (the only National League series during the Interleague weekend) and are seven games out in the division. Then there's the Padres, losers of their last six, 14 games under .500 and 10 games out in the NL West. Oh San Diego, something tells me the lightning in a bottle you caught last season has long since disappeared.

Giants vs. Twins, Schedule Preview: Giants Host Surging Twinkies at AT&T Park

The San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins have had some similar struggles this season. Both teams lost their superstar catchers for significant time, their excellent starting pitchers haven't all been themselves, and they've both gone on elongated winning streaks. Unfortunately for the Giants the Twins are on the streak right now as they head to AT&T Park for a three game set by the Cove. 

Currently at 31-39 for the season, the Twins are overcoming their abismal start by winning 14 of their last 16 games including their last seven in a row. The return of Joe Mauer and the resurgence of their pitching staff has ignited this team to shoot up the AL Central, lead by Tuesday's starter Carl Pavano. 

The Giants on the other hand are six games over .500 but losers of their last four and in desperate need to stop the bleeding. They scored a total of seven runs in their last four games with a .180 team batting average while going 0 for 26 with runners in scoring position. Luckily the G-Men kept a half-game lead over Arizona in the NL West over the Diamondbacks.

This will be the first meeting since 2005 between these teams when the Giants took two of three in Minnesota. The Twins won two of three in San Francisco in 2003.

For more on the Giants head on over to McCovey Chronicles.