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Diamondbacks-Giants Preview

Oct 1, 2009 - 6:10 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Arizona (68-90) at San Francisco (85-73), 3:45 p.m. EDT

The San Francisco Giants have fallen short of reaching the playoffs despite a valiant effort. Tim Lincecum, though, can give the home fans one more thrill Thursday night.

Lincecum looks to bolster his credentials for a second straight NL Cy Young Award as he faces Dan Haren and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Giants' home finale.

San Francisco (85-73) entered 2009 without major expectations after back-to-back seasons with at least 90 losses. The Giants, though, will finish with their first winning record since 2004, although they were eliminated Wednesday when Colorado beat Milwaukee 10-6.

"We saw the score," said manager Bruce Bochy, whose club went 13-14 in September. "We knew the last few days that it was a longshot. We just didn't play our best baseball this month."

One reason for San Francisco's turnaround is its NL-best 51-29 home mark. Lincecum (14-7, 2.47 ERA) has been a big part of that success, going 9-2 with a 1.84 ERA in 16 outings at AT&T Park.

"Obviously, it's coming down (to the end), but I'm going to treat it like another game and see how things go," Lincecum told the Giants' official Web site.

The right-hander will try to end 2009 on a winning note after going 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in his last two outings. He gave up two runs over seven innings in a 3-0 loss to the Cubs last Friday - his first home loss to a NL team and first since June 17.

Lincecum is 4-1 with a 1.79 ERA in eight career starts against Arizona (68-90), including 2-0 with a 1.22 ERA in five at home. Several Diamondbacks have poor numbers against him, including Mark Reynolds (2 for 13 with eight strikeouts) and Stephen Drew (3 for 23 with 10 strikeouts).

This will be the second time in Lincecum's career that he will be matched up with Haren (14-9, 3.02), who is also a Cy Young Award candidate. Lincecum outpitched Haren on May 27, 2008, by yielding five runs over six innings in a 6-3 victory.

Haren is making his third start this year against the Giants, going 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in two road outings. He's 6-5 with a 2.86 ERA lifetime against San Francisco in 15 appearances - 14 starts.

The right-hander did not get a decision Saturday when he allowed five runs over six innings in an 8-5 victory over San Diego.

San Francisco won for the 12th time in 17 meetings with Arizona with a 4-1 victory Wednesday. Brad Penny pitched a six-hitter and Eli Whiteside homered and drove in three runs for the Giants, who have won three straight.

Bengie Molina, who went 4 for 5 with two homers in Tuesday's 8-4 victory, will be back in the lineup in place of Whiteside to catch Lincecum. It could be the final home game for Molina, who has spent the last three years with the Giants.

"I'd like for him to catch Timmy's last game here," Bochy said about Molina.