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Lincecum hoping to follow best career start with win

Jul 7, 2007 - 2:15 PM San Francisco (37-47) at St Louis (39-44) 7:15 pm EDT

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - Rookie Tim Lincecum will look to continue his recent success when the San Francisco Giants face the St. Louis Cardinals in second of a three-game series Saturday.

After failing to record a win in six previous starts, Lincecum (3-2, 4.64 ERA) pitched seven scoreless innings, yielding just three hits with no walks and a career-high 12 strikeouts in a 13-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks last Sunday.

The 23-year-old righthander has not relinquished a run over his last 14 innings.

Barry Bonds, who has 752 career home runs, will hope to move another step closer to Hank Aaron's all-time mark.

The 42-year-old slugger saw his 10-game hitting end as he went 0-for-1 with three walks and a run scored in the Giants' 4-3 victory over the Cardinals on Friday.

Bonds has posted a .303 batting average with 17 blasts and 42 RBI this season.

Braden Looper (6-6, 4.65) will have the task of keeping Bonds in the ball park. Bonds is 2-for-5 with no homers in his career against Looper.

The 32-year-old Looper has not picked up a win since May 24. The righthander did not receive a decision after surrendering three runs and four hits over six innings in an 11-3 win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.