Game of the day | Lincecum trumps Cards

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals are certainly glad they've seen the last of Tim Lincecum in 2008.

The University of Washington product pitched seven sharp innings and beat St. Louis for the second time in a week, leading the San Francisco Giants over the Cardinals 3-0 Saturday.

The teams conclude their three-game set on Sunday, which is also their last scheduled meeting this season. And that means Lincecum will need to go pick on someone else.

Lincecum (3-0) gave up six hits and struck out five in his 10th major-league victory — three of those wins have come against St. Louis.

"You kind of get lucky from time to time against certain teams," said the Liberty High School graduate. "Those guys were swinging early, so I had to try to take advantage of it."

Last Sunday, Lincecum struck out 11 in six innings to beat the Cardinals.

"He's tough. He didn't make it easy on us," St. Louis second baseman Adam Kennedy said. "We had plenty of opportunities, starting with me early on, but just couldn't get that one hit we needed."

Kennedy added that Lincecum's mid-90s fastball sets up the rest of his repertoire.

"His fastball is so powerful he doesn't have to be perfect with the rest of his pitches," Kennedy said.

Aaron Rowand hit a solo home run and a run-scoring single as the Giants ended a three-game losing streak.

A pair of relievers worked the eighth inning, and Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his fifth save. The Cards finished with seven hits off Lincecum and his relief.

"Great job. He really pitched well," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He pitched very well in traffic and had to go through some tough hitters at times. Seven shutout innings against this ballclub that's very hot is an impressive job."

Rowand, signed as a free agent in the offseason, hit his first home run for the Giants as part of a 3-for-4 performance. Jose Castillo drove in San Francisco's other run with a double.

"It's starting to feel better. It's a long season," Rowand said. "It's nice to get the first one out of the way, but we've got a long season."

Cardinals star Albert Pujols went 0 for 3 and had his 10-game hitting streak snapped. He drew a walk, and has reached base in all 18 games for St. Louis.

The Giants again beat ex-Mariner Joel Pineiro (0-2), who gave up three runs and eight hits in 6-1/3 innings. He lost to Lincecum last weekend, too, allowing six runs and 10 hits in 3-2/3 innings.

"He was just OK," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He's not quite himself yet, but he's improving.

"The couple times he was not right, they nailed him. The other guy was outstanding, so that was the game."