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Five-run fourth helps Blue Jays top Giants

Jun 14, 2007 - 12:41 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The Toronto Blue Jays used a five-run fourth inning to amass a seven-run lead before sweating out a 7-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.

Barry Bonds, who was originally given the day off before being called upon to pinch hit in the ninth inning, struck out for the final out of the game.

Howie Clark scored three times and Aaron Hill and Matt Stairs both had two RBI as the Blue Jays posted their first victory in San Francisco.

Giants rookie starter Tim Lincecum (2-1) allowed seven runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. The righthander also struck out six but walked five.

The Blue Jays battered and chased Lincecum in the fourth, sending 10 batters to the plate to take a 7-0 lead.

Six straight hitters reached with two outs, as Jason Phillips, Alex Rios and Stairs had RBI singles. Hill's two-run single on a wicked hop over second baseman Ray Durham's glove capped the uprising.

"I wasn't even close to the zone with most of the balls," Lincecum said. "I was up, down, all over the place. It's kind of hard not to dismiss those pitches when they are so far out of the zone. They were putting good swings on it and finding holes."

Lincecum admitted to struggling with his composure and felt he lost some of the aggressiveness he had displayed earlier this season.

"It's just not being afraid to attack the zone and I just kind of felt like I was today," Lincecum said.

"Well, this kid, you have to remember how young he is," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "He is going to have some outings where he doesn't locate. He was a little erratic. He'll handle it fine."

Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan (3-2) earned his third straight win, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks in six innings.

"I felt like I never got in a groove really, it was a battling process and I never got comfortable," McGowan said. "It's nice (with a big lead) not having to pick around corners and you can go right at guys and have your defense do all the work."

Brian Tallet allowed two runs over 1 1/3 innings of relief for Toronto before Casey Janssen got the final two outs of the eighth and closer Jeremy Accardo recorded the final three outs for his eighth save.

"You always want to get out there and do your job, but it was nice to face him (Bonds) the way the outcome came - but it could just as easily could have went the other way with him," Accardo said. "I was anxious to get out there and pitch. I had to wait a couple of days but it ended up all right."

"After a couple of tough losses the last two days, we salvaged a .500 road trip and we've actually played very good ball," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "It's a good way to leave town and a nice off-day tomorrow. The guys are tired, they could use that."

Toronto built a 2-0 lead on an RBI groundout by Stairs in the first and a sacrifice fly from Troy Glaus in the third.

San Francisco's Guillermo Rodriguez broke up McGowan's shutout in the fourth with an RBI single, good for his first major league hit. Rodriguez, who was making his first career start in the majors after serving 12 years in the minors, also capped a two-run eighth with a sacrifice fly.

"It was awesome today," Rodriguez said. "I waited a long time for this day. My whole family (in Venezuela) was watching today. I got my first hit, my first two RBI, but it would have been better if we would've won the game."

Giants reliever Jonathan Sanchez connected for his first big-league hit in the sixth inning, slamming an RBI double to dead center. Lincecum also collected his first major league hit with a double in the third.

It marks the first time three players have recorded their inaugural hit in the same game since Sept. 20, 1998, when Atlanta's Mark DeRosa, Wes Helms and Bruce Chen accomplished the feat at Arizona.