Tim Lincecum struck out eight batters to carry the San Francisco Giants to a 9-4 win over West Coast rival the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old right-hander took a shutout into the eighth inning before running into trouble, but threw 103 pitches and allowed three runs in his second straight win.
“Everything felt fine,” the National League Cy Young recipient told reporters. “Pitches were moving the way they were supposed to. You always want to try to do the same things.”
PHOTO: AP
Bengie Molina led the offense with four RBIs and Edgar Renteria finished 4-for-5 for the Giants (10-10), who scratched out 15 hits in winning the series rubber match.
The NL West leading Dodgers (14-8) lost for the third time in four games.
Starting pitcher Eric Stults had a poor outing and lasted just 2 2/3 innings after previously pitching well in place of Hiroki Kuroda, who was injured on opening day.
“He couldn’t command at all tonight,” said Dodgers manager Joe Torre. “He couldn’t throw it where he wanted to and he’s not an overpowering guy so for him it’s all about command.”
Nate Schierholtz and Emmanuel Burriss had RBIs in the third, where the Giants took a 5-0 advantage.
Los Angeles trailed 7-0 in the eighth, where they got three runs back.
Orlando Hudson had an RBI in the inning to go 2-for-5 for the game, but San Francisco reliever Brian Wilson pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up the save.
Los Angeles slugger Manny Ramirez came into the contest riding a hot streak that included 18 hits in his last nine games, but finished just 1-for-4 with one run scored.
CARDINALS 5, BRAVES 3
The St. Louis Cardinals took sole possession of the National League lead following a win over the Atlanta Braves.
Pitcher Adam Wainwright overcame five walks and drove in a run during a four-run fifth inning that set up the victory.
Wainwright allowed three runs in the first three innings, but the Braves couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead as the Cardinals pitcher did not give up a run in three further innings.
The Cardinals are off to their best start since 2006, when they also were 15-7.
In other American League games it was:
• Brewers 1, Pirates 0
• Marlins 4, Mets 3
• Reds 3, Astros 0
• Rockies 7, Padres 5
• Diamondbacks 10, Cubs 0
• Nationals 4, Phillies 1
AP, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Zack Greinke gave up an earned run for the first time in 43 innings, but Billy Butler backed him with two homers as Kansas City thrashed the Toronto Blue Jays 11-3 on Wednesday.
Vernon Wells’ RBI single with two outs in the first produced the first earned run off Greinke (5-0) since last September, a span of six starts.
After throwing complete-game shutouts his two previous starts, Grienke went seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs with two walks and eight strikeouts. He leads the American League with 44 strikeouts.
His ERA climbed from 0.00 to 0.50.
Butler, hitting .193 when the game began, had two homers, a double, a single and four RBIs.
He homered, doubled and homered in three at-bats against left-hander Brian Tallet (1-1), who was charged with 10 runs and 11 hits in four-plus innings.
YANKEES 8, TIGERS 6
At Detroit, Nick Swisher hit two homers and Joba Chamberlain gave up a run in seven innings to lead New York.
The Yankees won two straight in Detroit by a combined score of 19-6 after losing the series opener and three in a row at Boston for a season-high four-game skid.
Swisher hit a three-run homer in the seven-run fourth and added a solo shot in the fifth, giving him a team-high seven home runs.
The Tigers scored five runs in the ninth.
Chamberlain (1-0) gave up three hits and three walks while matching a career high for innings pitched.
In other National League games it was:
• Red Sox 6, Indians 5, 10 innings
• Twins 8, Rays 3
• White Sox 6, Mariners 3
• Angels 3, Orioles 2
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS