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Giants try to bounce back in finale vs. Reds

Jun 12, 2011 - 3:44 PM (Sports Network) - Ballclubs are not going to win many games when a star hurler gets bombed on the mound.

The San Francisco Giants learned that the hard way when two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum was shelled by the Cincinnati Reds in Saturday's 10-2 loss during the third installment of a four-game series at AT&T Park. Tonight the defending champions will look to Jonathan Sanchez for salvation, as he takes the mound in the series finale with the Reds.

Lincecum's outing was purely an aberration of what he can really do on the hill and appeared shaky most of the afternoon, lasting a season-low four-plus innings and matching a career-high with seven runs allowed. The righty walked four batters and struck out only one to fall to 5-5 on the season. Lincecum also raised his earned run average from 2.85 to 3.41.

"I was kind of flying all over the place," Lincecum said on the Giants' website. "The answer is getting back to the drawing board and getting my mechanics straight. I feel like I'm throwing three different kinds of tosses, thinking about what to do with my arm, what to do with my legs, am I leading with my shoulder, those kinds of things. I just need to stop thinking about that so much and do what I need to do. Right there is the inconsistency."

San Francisco's ace, who has never beaten the Reds, didn't get much help from an offense that hasn't scored more than three runs in five straight contests. Pat Burrell stroked a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, and Cody Ross had a double to go along with three strikeouts for the Giants, who lost for the fourth time in 11 tries and are 5-4 on a 10-game homestand. San Francisco is one game ahead of Arizona for the NL West lead.

The Giants signed infielder Bill Hall after second baseman Freddy Sanchez dislocated his right shoulder in Friday's game and landed on the disabled list. Hall saw action Saturday, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Miguel Tejada went 0-for-3 and had his seven-game hitting streak halted.

Sanchez, meanwhile, hopes to end a recent string of San Francisco losses when he makes his 14th start of the season tonight. At 4-4 in 13 starts with a 3.51 earned run average, Sanchez is coming off a 2-1 loss versus Washington on Tuesday and yielded two runs in five innings of work.

The left-hander has been reached for at least two runs in three straight and six of his last seven starts. He is 2-1 in six starts by the Bay this season and will make his fifth career start against Cincinnati. Sanchez is 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA in four starts in this matchup and hasn't faced the Reds since they tagged him for five runs in 4 1/3 frames of a 16-5 Giants win last Aug. 24.

Cincinnati has won six of its last 10 games and is 2-1 so far on a seven-game road trip through San Francisco and Los Angeles. In Saturday's eight-run victory over the hosting Giants, the Reds banged around Lincecum for seven runs and had a 10-0 lead before Burrell's two-run homer in the ninth.

Mike Leake pitched eight shutout innings, struck out eight batters and allowed four hits to lift his record to 6-2 this season. Carlos Fisher gave up the home run to Burrell and eventually settled down to seal the win.

"It's nice to get a win against the national champions," Leake said.

Brandon Phillips drove in two runs, Joey Votto had three hits, a run scored and an RBI and both Ryan Hanigan and Paul Janish ended with two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who had a 12-6 advantage in hits and pulled within four games of St. Louis for the NL Central lead. Milwaukee defeated the Cardinals last night and is just a half-game off the pace.

The Reds scored 10 runs despite not homering for the fourth game in a row, a season high. They will head to Dodger Stadium following Sunday's game.

Edinson Volquez will make his second start this evening for Cincinnati since working out the kinks in two minor league stints. Volquez pitched a pair of games for Triple-A Louisville, then returned to the big leagues in an 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.

Volquez was sharp through seven innings and allowed just one run on back-to- back doubles by Aramis Ramirez and Blake DeWitt. The right-hander, who sported a short hair cut after having lengthy locks, pushed his record to 4-2 in 11 starts to go along with a 5.75 earned run average.

"He was locating his fastball a lot better. That's the Volquez we knew from before," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Volquez is 2-2 in five road outings in 2011 and will make his fourth career start against San Francisco, going 2-1 with a putrid 8.31 ERA in the first three outings.

The Giants won four of seven over the Reds a season ago, taking two of three by the Bay.