Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants shut out Florida Marlins 3-0

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

Any time you ask Bruce Bochy about the Giants' odd, record-breaking streak of solo home runs, the manager lets out one of his basso profundo groans.

"I really know what Earl Weaver meant when he said he liked the three-run home run," Bochy said. "We all do."

Weaver also had pitchers such as Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally. The old Baltimore Orioles manager would have enjoyed having Tim Lincecum on his side, too.

Lincecum busted another losing streak while striking out 10 in seven shutout innings, and the Giants got their three runs in three different innings to pull out a 3-0 victory over the Florida Marlins on Saturday at Sun Life Stadium.

A night earlier, Bochy called a clubhouse meeting after the Giants' 11th loss in 14 games, telling his second-place team to straighten up those slumping shoulders and play loose.

That's always a bit easier with Lincecum on the mound.

"Hopefully it'll get us on a win streak and lift morale in here," said Lincecum, who is 4-2 with a 1.11 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break. "Bochy told us we can't hang our heads. This is going to be the toughest part of the schedule going into September. We need to lighten the mood, just go out and have some fun.

"We know where the Diamondbacks are. It's different when you're in the lead. Once they took the lead, it's like we're pressing. We're trying to play catch-up instead of relaxing and playing good ball.

"Nothing comes easy, especially if you're thinking too hard about it. You've just got to go out there with intent and do what's asked of you."

The hitters didn't exactly bust out. Nate Schierholtz scored in the fifth after an error and a wild pitch, and Aubrey Huff's run-scoring double in the sixth was a pop-up down the line that left fielder Logan Morrison dropped.

The Giants' first run, the only one Lincecum would need, came on Jeff Keppinger's first home run as a Giant -- solo, of course. The Giants' 21 consecutive home runs with the bases empty extended a highly undesirable major league record.

"Yeah, we're going to try to set a record that's never going to be broken," Bochy said. "We're in relentless pursuit of solo home runs. But you know what? I'll take them."

So did Lincecum (11-9), who might be re-entering the Cy Young Award race with a very strong second half.

"All our pitchers should be in the Cy Young race, the way they're pitching," Huff said. "Shoot, Timmy could be 20-3 with the Yankees. You can only imagine what they'd do if they had a nice lead."

Once again, Lincecum ditched the windup with the bases empty, confident he could find his rhythm better from the stretch. He did, allowing only Emilio Bonifacio's infield chopper in the third inning and Bryan Petersen's single in the seventh. Lincecum promptly struck out his final two batters, showing little effects from the humid, upper-80s heat.

Little Timmy used to melt like frozen custard in steamy conditions. Now he's simply fitter and more focused than during his winless August a year ago.

"That's where putting on the weight worked to my benefit," said Lincecum, who is known to wolf down three In-N-Out double-doubles in one sitting. "It's not all good weight, but I can retain water a little better and sustain my pitch count."

It's also notable that three of Lincecum's four victories after the break have come against managers who questioned his greatness in recent weeks. He twice beat Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who called him "good, not great." Lincecum wasn't aware of it, but Florida manager Jack McKeon had criticized Bochy for putting the right-hander, then 6-6, on his N.L. All-Star squad instead of the Marlins' Anibal Sanchez.

"I don't know if it's proving me right," Bochy said of Lincecum's second-half surge. "He's a guy people want to see, so I had no problems with him being on the All-Star team because he deserved it. But, sure, it's nice to see him show what he's all about."

The next question for Bochy: Will he allow recently recalled rookie Brandon Belt, now in his fourth stint with the club, to show what he's all about?

Bochy said Belt is "here to help" as a backup first baseman, outfielder and pinch hitter.

Pressed on why he wouldn't throw Belt out there every day, Bochy said he has "your guys, veterans you still believe in. I'll do all I can to get him at-bats, because I think we need some help. It'll be up to Brandon to come up and handle this well and give us some good at-bats."

Box Score