Even the casual baseball fan will tell you that Tim Lincecum hasn't been himself this season. The two-time Cy Young award winner has left Giants fans this season to wonder which version is going to show up that game. Tonight, the Lincecum of old began to show himself. The starter went 6.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts against the Chicago Cubs. Both runs were given up in the third inning, and from there the Giants pitching staff was able to keep the Cubs off the scoreboard.
San Francisco opened the game with a four-run first inning. With the bases loaded, Chicago starter Justin Germano hit Hector Sanchez with a pitch, bringing Pablo Sandoval home. Following Sanchez, Xavier Nady hit a three-run double to make the score 4-0. The Giants would get one more run in the second inning on a Marco Scuttaro sac fly putting the Giants at 5-0. The Cubs would make it 5-2 after the third inning and that's where it stayed for the rest of the game.
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1, keeping San Francisco's lead over LA at 4.5 games in the NL West. The Giants close out the series against Chicago on Sunday with the 13-5 Matt Cain taking the mound.
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