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Lincecum looking to end Giants' futility vs. A's

Jun 28, 2008 - 12:57 PM San Francisco (34-46) at Oakland (44-35) 9:05 p.m. EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The San Francisco Giants turn to Tim Lincecum to end their futility against the Oakland Athletics when the teams continue a three-game interleague series on Saturday.

The Giants suffered their seventh consecutive loss against the Athletics during the series opener on Friday, scoring just one run while adding only five hits en route to a three-run setback. It was the 10th time in 11 meetings San Francisco has fallen to its Bay Area rivals, dropping to 38-28 against Oakland since interleague play began in 1997.

Lincecum (8-1, 2.54 ERA) appears to be the perfect candidate to reverse the losing trend as the 24-year-old righthander has been the Giants best pitcher this season.

Linceum is 6-0 with an impressive 2.10 ERA on the road this season but will have to overcome a sub-par outing in his only previous start against Oakland. He allowed three runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings, walking five but did not factor in the decision during a 5-3 10-inning loss to the A's on June 8, 2007.

Justin Duchscherer (8-4, 1.99) tries to win five consecutive starts for the first time in his career when he counters for the A's.

Duchscherer has allowed just one run and pitched at least seven innings in each of his last three starts. The 30-year-old converted reliever has also benefited from the A's offense, which has scored 30 total runs during his previous three outings.