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Kennedy outduels Lincecum, D-Backs even series

Sep 4, 2011 - 6:49 AM San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Ian Kennedy pitched seven solid innings to pick up his 18th victory, outduel Tim Lincecum and lead the Diamondbacks in a 7-2 win over the Giants.

Kennedy (18-4), who leads the National League in victories, gave up a run on five hits and two walks, while striking out six. The Diamondbacks' offense supported him by scoring five runs in five-plus innings against Lincecum (12-12), San Francisco's ace.

Paul Goldschmidt homered and drove in two for Arizona, which restored its lead over the Giants in the NL West to six games. San Francisco had won the opener of this pivotal three-game series on Friday.

"These guys are the [defending] world champions, they're a great team," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said of the Giants. "Their pitching is their strength. We know if we have aspirations to get into the postseason and go beyond, our pitching's going to have to stand up."

Carlos Beltran had three hits and Pablo Sandoval drove in two for the Giants, but they went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight.

The game was tied after Aaron Hill's RBI double and Sandoval's sacrifice fly in the third inning, but Goldschmidt delivered two key hits to put Arizona on top for good.

In the fourth, Lincecum threw a 2-0 fastball low and over the plate, and Goldschmidt belted it over the center field wall.

An inning later, Lincecum walked Justin Upton and Miguel Montero with two away to bring Goldschmidt to plate. The first baseman came through for the Diamondbacks again, slapping a single through the left side to make it a 3-1 game.

"I kind of got away from the game plan against a guy like Goldschmidt," Lincecum said. "He's the kind of guy you need to elevate the ball in on, and I just kept throwing it knee-high, where he can get to those kinds of balls."

Ryan Roberts and Gerardo Parra opened the sixth with consecutive doubles to add another run for Arizona, chasing Lincecum in the process. Guillermo Mota came in, but hit Willie Bloomquist and walked Hill with one out to load the bases, then walked Upton to force in a run.

The Giants had a chance to trim their deficit in the eighth, Jeff Keppinger and Beltran hit leadoff singles against David Hernandez. Sandoval came up and drove a ball to left field, but it stayed in the park and was caught.

The sacrifice fly plated Keppinger, but Beltran was thrown out by Parra trying to reach second, effectively ending the rally.

Chris Young and Roberts drove in runs in the ninth to complete the scoring.

Game Notes

Giants outfielder Pat Burrell left the game with a sore right foot...Goldschmidt has homered against Lincecum twice this season, also doing so on August 2. The rookie has hit six total homers...Kennedy has won three consecutive starts, giving up only two runs in 21 innings over the span...Lincecum has dropped consecutive starts, allowing 10 runs -- nine earned -- in 11-plus innings.