SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
If Roy Oswalt is traded this summer, perhaps he wouldn't mind getting dealt to a team that wouldn't play the Giants the rest of the season.
That way, he'd erase Tim Lincecum from his mind.
The sixth Lincecum-Oswalt duel, featuring two of the toughest and hardest-throwing little men in the game, played out at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday, and Lincecum prevailed for the fourth time - the third in 2010.
The Giants beat the Astros 3-1, because Lincecum surrendered one run (unearned) while Oswalt gave up two runs in the seventh. Lincecum, respectful of the pitcher who's seven years his elder, said he never spoke with Oswalt other than to say hi but wished he had in 2007, his first year, when the comparisons between the two pitchers began being emphasized.
"He's a competitor. You can see that in him," Lincecum said. "He's got great pitches. He throws a lot of stuff. I don't know. I guess it was just unfortunate for him. It's the baseball gods. I don't control that stuff."
But he does.
If Lincecum didn't have his A game, he had his A-minus game. He had just two 1-2-3 innings and threw 119 pitches in eight innings. But every time he needed to, he revved it up and got outs. He struck out seven, walked two and surrendered seven hits in his best start in weeks.
In starts against each other, Lincecum is 4-0. Oswalt is 1-4.
It was 1-0 Astros until the Giants rallied for two runs in the seventh. Pat Burrell hit an RBI single, and Pablo Sandoval avoided an inning-ending double play when he beat the throw to first base, prompting the second run of the inning. But the inning's key was Juan Uribe's 11-pitch walk with one out, which moved Aubrey Huff to second and set up the Burrell at-bat.
The Giants scored an insurance run in the ninth on Nate Schierholtz's two-out single.
The Astros' run came in the second, and it was a gift. Jason Castro, who was promoted from the minors Tuesday and played at Stanford, opened the inning with his first big-league hit. Bengie Molina allowed him to reach second on a passed ball. Shortstop Edgar Renteria, in the lineup because of decent career numbers against Oswalt, dropped a basket-catch attempt of Tommy Manzella's popup.
The Giants caught a break when Oswalt popped up a bunt, but Michael Bourn doubled home the game's first run.
After Lincecum walked Jeff Keppinger to load the bases, second baseman Freddy Sanchez bailed him out. Lance Berkman hit a sharp grounder heading to center field that went off Lincecum's glove, enabling Sanchez to masterfully turn a double play.
"He did all the work," joked Sanchez. "He knocked it down for me."
"That won the game for us," Bochy said.
Buster Posey, with just two hits in his last seven games, was out of the Giants' lineup. Sandoval played first base.
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