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Giants take aim at series win against Dodgers

Apr 13, 2011 - 2:32 PM (Sports Network) - The San Francisco Giants go for their second straight series victory tonight when they wrap up a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park.

After dropping Monday's opener, the Giants battled back with a 5-4 victory last night to even this set. Aaron Rowand tripled in the seventh inning and then scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. He finished with two hits and an RBI, while Buster Posey knocked in a pair of runs to give San Francisco its fourth victory in six games.

Tim Lincecum was shaky in his first home start of the season. He gave up three runs and lasted just 5 1/3 innings before Jeremy Affeldt got the win despite a one-run seventh inning. Closer Brian Wilson picked up his first save of the season with a perfect ninth, striking out all three batters.

"We did a great job of answering back," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We did a good job of keeping the line moving."

Marcus Thames had a solo home run and Matt Kemp had a pair of hits and an RBI for the Dodgers, who had won three of their last four contests and fell to 3-4 on their eight-game road trip.

Blake Hawksworth got the loss, throwing the wild pitch to allow Rowand to score.

The Dodgers, who will be without shortstop Rafael Furcal for at least a month due to a broken thumb, will start Ted Lilly, who took a loss to the Giants on April 2 after getting touched for four runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings of a 10-0 defeat.

It was the only loss Los Angeles suffered in that season-opening four-game set with the defending National League champs, and Lilly fell to 3-3 with a 5.79 earned run average in his career versus the Giants.

The 35-year-old lefty made his last start on Friday versus the Padres, but multiple rain delays limited him to just 4 1/3 innings and a no-decision. Lilly allowed two runs on seven hits in the outing.

Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez will also be looking for revenge tonight after he lost his season debut to the Dodgers on April 1. He yielded four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight while falling to 2-6 with a 4.68 ERA in his career in this series.

Sanchez, a 28-year-old southpaw, then got a no-decision versus the Cardinals on Friday even though he gave up just a run on four hits over five innings with another seven strikeouts in San Francisco's home opener.