Tim Lincecum outdueled Roy Halladay in one of the most highly anticipated pitching match-ups in years as the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in the opening game of the National League Championship Series on Saturday.
San Francisco outfielder Cody Ross provided the offensive fireworks with two solo home runs off Halladay, who surrendered four runs over seven innings and took the loss.
Lincecum, the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner, pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out eight, before relievers Javier Lopez and Brian Wilson closed it out.
San Francisco tagged Halladay for two runs in the fifth to take a cosy 4-1 lead and silence what had been a raucous, towel-waving crowd of nearly 46,000 on a chilly night.
Former Phillie Pat Burrell smacked a two-out double off the left-field wall to score Buster Posey from first, and then Juan Uribe lined a single up the middle to score Burrell.
The Phillies closed to within 4-3 in the sixth inning when Jayson Werth belted a two-run homer, the ball landing over the right-field wall just beyond the reach of Nate Schierholtz.
Wilson, however, shut the door, giving up one hit while striking out four in one-and-a-third innings to collect the save.
Both Lincecum and Halladay battled furiously, though neither was at his best.
Lincecum was not as dominant as he was in his last start, a 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout of Atlanta in the opening game of the divisional series.
Halladay, meanwhile, gave up eight hits while striking out seven and walking none.
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