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Giants-Dodgers Preview

May 10, 2009 - 1:05 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

San Francisco (15-13) at Los Angeles (21-10), 4:10 p.m. EDT

If the San Francisco Giants were worried about reigning NL Cy Young award-winner Tim Lincecum after his first two starts, they aren't anymore.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers' concerns about their Manny Ramirez-less offense seem to be easing.

Still, Los Angeles has yet to get the best of Lincecum, who'll go for a fourth straight win overall and against San Francisco's most bitter NL West rival on Sunday at Dodger Stadium in the finale of a three-game set.

Despite his small frame and limited major league experience, Lincecum dazzled hitters in his first full season last year, going 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. But he struggled through his first two starts of 2009, allowing seven runs and walking six in 8 1-3 innings.

Since then, he has recaptured his dominating form, going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and striking out 40 in 30 innings over his last four starts. Lincecum (3-1, 3.05 ERA) beat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, allowing two runs and four hits in seven innings of a 6-2 victory.

Lincecum's previous outing was a win over the Dodgers on April 29, as he moved to 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his career against Los Angeles. The right-hander allowed three runs in the eighth after seven shutout innings, but the Giants still cruised to a 9-4 victory.

"You always think the Dodgers are going to be a little bigger, because of the rivalry," Lincecum said. "But you always want to try to do the same things. ... Everything felt fine. Pitches were moving the way they were supposed to."

The Giants (15-14) took two of three in that series after Los Angeles won three straight against them at Dodger Stadium from April 13-16.

The current Dodger lineup is still adjusting to life without Ramirez, who is three games into a 50-game drug suspension. But after losing its first two contests without their top home-run threat - including 3-1 to the Giants on Friday - Los Angeles rebounded with an 8-0 win Saturday.

Juan Pierre, playing left field in place of Ramirez, was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs in that game and is hitting .405.

San Francisco's lineup, meanwhile, was shut down by left-hander Eric Stults' four-hitter as the Dodgers (22-10) improved to 14-2 at home. They have the best record in baseball and already lead the second-place Giants by 5 1/2 games in the AL West.

The Giants remain above .500 even though they rank last in the majors with 102 runs. By the end of Saturday's game, none of their starting nine had a batting average over .300.

Resurgent veteran Jeff Weaver looks to hold down San Francisco as he continues to reestablish himself in the majors.

Weaver (1-0, 1.00) had a 6.20 ERA with Seattle in 2007 and didn't pitch in the big leagues last year, but he returned with four shutout innings out of the bullpen for the Dodgers on April 30 in an 8-5 win over San Diego.

He started Tuesday, allowing one run while striking out six in five frames to earn the win as Los Angeles beat Arizona 3-1.

"He gave us everything we could have expected or wanted," Dodgers manager Joe Torre told his team's official Web site. "We gave them a couple extra outs and he pitched around that. He couldn't have been better than he was."

Weaver hasn't faced the Giants since June 2006 while with the Los Angeles Angels. He's 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in his last six starts against them.