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Nationals-Giants Preview

May 26, 2010 - 6:06 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Washington (23-23) at San Francisco (23-21), 10:15 p.m. EDT

After snapping their longest skid of the season, the San Francisco Giants hope ace Tim Lincecum can help the team begin a streak in the positive direction.

The two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner looks to bounce back from his worst outing of the season as the Giants try for a second consecutive victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

After allowing no more than three runs in any of his first eight starts this season, Lincecum (5-0, 2.35 ERA) gave up five and five walks in a season-low five innings of an 8-7 loss at Arizona on Thursday.

Though the right-hander struck out six to raise his major league-leading total to 75, Lincecum has walked 10 in his last two games.

"The walks are always going to come around to kill you," Lincecum told the Giants' official website. "You go out there and it all has to do with your mindset first, staying positive and knowing you're going to throw strikes, having confidence in your pitches.

"I'm not saying I don't have that right now. They're just not going where I want to exactly and obviously it's costing me."

Lincecum looks to rebound against the Nationals, a team he's 1-0 with a 1.77 ERA against in three outings.

San Francisco (23-21) snapped its five-game skid by beating Washington for the 12th time in 14 meetings, 4-2 on Tuesday.

Freddy Sanchez drove in two runs while Todd Wellemeyer pitched six solid innings and scored the go-ahead run as the Giants snapped a 24-inning scoreless drought. San Francisco scored one run while being swept in a three-game set across the Bay in Oakland over the weekend.

However, Tuesday's win didn't produce all good news for the Giants.

In his third game since coming off the disabled list with a groin strain, San Francisco's Edgar Renteria had two hits Tuesday, but tweaked his right hamstring on a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning and will have an MRI on Wednesday.

"It's unbelievable. I don't know what to say," said Renteria, who was 4 for 10 since coming off the DL.

Josh Willingham and Ian Desmond each drove in a run and had two of the four hits for Washington (23-23) in the opener of a 10-game trip.

Willingham is batting .304 with five RBIs in his last seven games, and 10 for 33 with six RBIs in his last nine against San Francisco.

Washington turns to rookie Luis Atilano (3-1, 5.06), who looks to bounce back from the roughest start of his young career when he faces San Francisco for the first time.

In his sixth career start, the right-hander allowed seven runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings of a 10-7 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday.

"Everything feels fine, but unfortunately, it was not a good night," Atilano told the Nationals' official website.