Giants pull out ace in the hole

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

Tim Lincecum carried 24 teammates on his skinny back to a much-needed victory Sunday, then flew to New York for his first All-Star Game - and did not sound all that enthused.

"It's a pain in the butt right now," he said. "I've got to fly again, lose an hour, get to New York at 10 o'clock. It'll get hectic tomorrow with all the craziness going on, but I'm ready to take it all in."

The question now is whether Lincecum will be a participant or a spectator at Yankee Stadium. He threw 116 pitches over eight innings and outpitched fellow All-Star Ryan Dempster in a 4-2 victory over the Cubs that ended the Giants' six-game losing streak.

Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged he probably cost Lincecum (11-2) a chance to start Tuesday by letting him go so long. Bochy also said he sent word to National League manager Clint Hurdle and asked that Lincecum be limited to one inning - and that was before the 116 pitches. Bochy said he will double-check with Lincecum and pitching coach Dave Righetti to make sure The Franchise is good to go.

"It's an honor to pitch in the All-Star Game. I'd hate for him not to get that," Bochy said. "At the same time, we've got to think about what's best for him."

Righetti seemed less concerned with Lincecum going an inning, because Tuesday will be his normal between-starts throw day, and more worried about handing control over his pitcher to someone else, an occupational hazard surrounding every All-Star Game.

Lincecum took a comebacker off the back of his right leg Sunday, and Righetti wants him to tell his dad and the NL coaching staff if the leg or any other part of his body is sore, lest he change his mechanics and endanger his arm by pitching on one day's rest.

Otherwise, Righetti said, "We don't know if he's going to get hurt the whole rest of his career. Pitching one inning in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium? He should be able to do that."

Lincecum seems to be the least concerned, saying if he does not get to pitch, "whatever." Then, Lincecum revealed he has not watched an All-Star Game and ridiculed the notion that it determines home-field advantage for the World Series.

"It's crazy," he said. "I thought it was supposed to be fun. Now there's pressure on it?"

Talk about pressure. Had the Giants lost Sunday, they would have had an 0-6 trip and five nights to think about a seven-game losing streak. Enter Lincecum, the stopper. He improved to 10-1 following a Giants loss by handcuffing the Cubs over eight innings. He allowed one run and struck out nine, raising his total to 137, tying Juan Marichal for the second most by a San Francisco pitcher going into the break.

Moreover, Lincecum gave the Giants their first lead on the trip with an RBI triple in the third inning, the first by a Giants pitcher since Jesse Foppert hit one in 2003. Lincecum later scored on Ray Durham's two-run single.

The rally began when Omar Vizquel, in a 4-for-60 nosedive, singled for the first of his two hits and stole second. So eager was Bochy to get his offense rolling, he played hit-and-run with Lincecum batting. Lincecum swung and missed, but nobody covered second, so Vizquel had his fourth steal.

After the game, Vizquel categorically denied a Denver Post article that said he might retire during the All-Star break because he was embarrassed with his hitting.

"It's false," he said. "If I ever think about that, the Giants are going to be the first to know."

Fred Lewis, in a 1-for-20 funk, hit an RBI triple in the seventh. Brian Wilson saved his fellow All-Star's victory, another rickety effort in which he allowed a run. His 25 saves are tied for third-most by a Giant at the break.

"If I was a starter, I'd probably average 270, 280 pitches per outing," Wilson acknowledged. "That would be a little stressful."

Wilson's velocity seemed to be down as he walked a batter and allowed two hits. Then it seemed to rise as he struck out Daryle Ward and retired Ryan Theriot on a grounder to end the game.

"I just wanted to go out and throw strikes today," Wilson said. "They hit them, so I'm going to go back to throwing as hard as I can and see what happens."