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Lincecum overcoming dismal offense, injuries

Aug 22, 2008 - 10:20 AM San Diego (48-79) at San Francisco (55-72) 10:15 p.m. EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- A dismal offense and a line drive off the knee won't stop Tim Lincecum from claiming victories.

Lincecum goes for his third straight win on Friday when the San Francisco Giants host the San Diego Padres.

The 24-year-old Lincecum (13-3, 2.60 ERA) has been the lone bright spot for the Giants, who rank second to last in the majors with 485 runs and are 22nd with a .256 average. However, Lincecum's tremendous campaign almost took a dark turn on August 12 when Brad Ausmus of the Houston Astros hit a liner that struck him on the side of his right knee.

X-rays were negative and the National League strikeout and ERA leader dismissed any worries of lingering problems during his last start. He limited the Atlanta Braves to one run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings, walking four while striking out 10 en route to a 3-1 victory on Sunday.

Lincecum aims to duplicate that performance when he opposes Cha Seung Baek (4-8, 4.99), who has lost back-to-back starts and is trying to avoid dropping three straight for the first time since his rookie season in 2004.