Rolling Astros face tough test in Giants' Lincecum
Posted: Thu May 15 10:54 AM
(Sports Network) - The Houston Astros haven't had much trouble scoring runs lately, but the red-hot club may have trouble keeping up that pace when it takes on San Francisco Giants star Tim Lincecum in this afternoon's finale of a four-game series from AT&T Park.
After emerging as one of the top rookie hurlers in the National League a year ago, Lincecum certainly doesn't appear to be a candidate for the dreaded sophomore jinx. The diminutive right-hander has compiled a 5-1 record through seven starts and one relief appearance so far in 2008, while his 1.61 earned run average currently ranks second among NL pitchers. He also stands third in the Senior Circuit with 53 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings.
Lincecum put forth another overpowering performance on Saturday, when he limited Philadelphia to two runs and four hits while striking out eight batters over a season-high eight innings to lead the Giants to an 8-2 win.
The 23-year-old had a pair of outstanding outings against Houston during his rookie campaign, earning a victory in one and a no-decision in the other. In those two starts, Lincecum surrendered a total of three runs -- two earned -- and just seven hits in a combined 15 innings of work.
Lincecum will be going up against a Houston squad that has ripped off 10 victories in its last 12 games, including a 6-3 triumph over the Giants on Wednesday. The Astros also boast the game's hottest hitter at the moment in first baseman Lance Berkman, who contributed a two-run homer to last night's winning effort.
Berkman has now hit safely in 12 consecutive games and is batting a torrid .560 (28-for-50) with six homers and 17 RBI during the tear.
Brad Ausmus also socked a two-run homer for Houston, while Miguel Tejada collected three hits and two RBI and snapped a 3-3 tie with a run-scoring single in the top of the seventh inning.
Tejada's hit made a winner out of reliever Oscar Villarreal (1-3), who recorded the final out in the bottom of the sixth. Six members of the Houston bullpen combined to hold San Francisco scoreless over the last four innings, with Jose Valverde tossing a shutout ninth to notch his 10th save.
Aaron Rowand had a two-run homer for San Francisco, which has dropped two of the first three games of this series and seven of its last 10 overall. Ray Durham, Bengie Molina, John Bowker and Jose Castillo each recorded two hits in a losing cause.
Giants starter Pat Misch gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out six over six innings. Jack Taschner (2-1) took the loss after yielding the go- ahead run in the seventh.
The Astros will hand the ball in today's series finale to Chris Sampson, who aims to build off his best start of the season in his most recent mound trip.
Against the Dodgers on Saturday, Sampson spun seven shutout innings in which he yielded only three hits and one walk to record his second win of the season. The finesse right-hander failed to last beyond 4 1/3 frames in either of his previous two starts, a loss at Arizona and a no-decision versus Milwaukee, and was rocked for a total of 10 runs and 16 hits during that rough stretch.
Sampson also owns good career numbers against the Giants, having posted a 1.50 ERA along with a 1-1 record through two starts. The loss came at AT&T Park last May, although two of the three runs Sampson allowed during his six-inning stint in that game were unearned.
The Giants won four of their six encounters with Houston last season and have gone 10-5 against the Astros since 2006. San Francisco has taken six of the nine matchups held at AT&T Park during that two-year stretch.
