Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum kicked up a storm on the mound before the ninth inning, the better to bury the Pirates.
With the dirt hill rearranged to his liking, Lincecum finished shoving a career-high 15 strikeouts down Pittsburgh's throat in a 4-2 victory Monday at AT&T Park.
His 80th strike in 115 pitches was swung on and missed by Andy LaRoche, giving Lincecum two more strikeouts than his previous single-game high. He's the third Giants pitcher since 1958 to strike out 15 hitters.
This was also Lincecum's first victory this side of his All-Star Game start and his fourth complete-game victory of the season.
"Good to be home," Lincecum said. "It's been a long away-stand."
By long, Lincecum means a 3-7 road trip - including two losses when he started - and removal from the top of the wild-card chase. That made Monday's homecoming all the more warm and fuzzy.
"He was excited to be home and (to) get us back on track," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He was on a mission out there."
It showed near game's end. The game was delayed briefly when Pirates reliever Josh Grabow asked for the mound to be reworked by the grounds crew.
Lincecum, clearly unimpressed, gave the cleaned-up mound a good kicking in the ninth before striking out two of three batters.
"He did some landscaping there and it looked like it helped out," Bochy said.
Briefly: The Giants called up infielders Jesus Guzman and Eugenio Velez from Triple-A Fresno before Monday's game. They sent down John Bowker and Matt Downs. ... Centerfielder Aaron Rowand missed a seventh straight start with what is now described as a partial tear in his right forearm. He remains available as a pinch-hitter, Bochy said, as he recovers for at least four to five days. ... Randy Johnson remains out indefinitely with no timetable to return from a shoulder injury, Bochy said.
From: MLB.com Pittsburgh (43-56) Lost 3 | San Francisco 4, Pittsburgh 2 |  San Francisco (53-46) Won 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 7/27/09 | Recap: PIT | SF | Gameday | Pirates stats | Giants stats |
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