Lincecum stops losing streak

ST. LOUIS -- Tim Lincecum is known in scouting circles as Seabiscuit, a reference to the undersize Thoroughbred who powered his way to the winner's circle.

So it was a lighthearted moment Saturday when Lincecum's spikes became clotted with mud on a soggy mound, and trainer Dave Groeschner came to check on him. Lincecum raised each hoof and Groeschner proceeded to clean out the debris.

"I was laughing about it on the mound," Lincecum said. "I thought, 'This has got to look funny.' "

Lincecum earned a few apples Saturday. The 23-year-old dominated the St. Louis Cardinals over seven shutout innings, and Aaron Rowand hit his first home run as a Giant in a 3-0 victory at Busch Stadium.

It was another happy day with Lincecum on the mound. The Giants are 4-0 in the games he has pitched, and 3-11 otherwise. Kevin Correia has the only other victory among their starting pitchers.

With runners on base, Lincecum sprinkled in a few more change-ups and tossed a few more sliders -- pitches he didn't feature when he made his major-league debut a year ago.

"Not to say they don't feel the same way about the other starters, but the way Timmy competes, it picks up the whole ball club," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's used to powering his way through lineups, but now you see him pitching more. He picks up things so fast and makes the adjustments. That's what you need at this level, and he's shown he can do it at an early age."

The Giants have struggled to make adjustments while facing the same St. Louis pitchers they saw last weekend at AT&T Park. Matt Cain also struggled in his second look at the Cardinals on Friday night, giving up a career-high nine earned runs.

But Lincecum had no trouble tweaking his game. His best sequence came in the fourth inning after official pest Skip Schumaker and Chris Duncan hit leadoff singles. Lincecum fell behind Albert Pujols 3-0 but didn't give in, getting two called strikes and following with a breaking ball in the dirt that Pujols waved through.

Jack Taschner and Tyler Walker teamed up for a perfect eighth inning, and Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for his fifth save in six chances. Shortstop Brian Bocock, who hasn't taken his offensive struggles into the field, made a barehanded grab and throw to end it.

Lincecum was sheepish when asked about having three of the four victories by Giants starters.

"I know guys are pitching their (tails) off," he said.

"Sometimes it doesn't work in your favor. We feed off any win we can get. Hopefully, this one will get us started."