Aurilia backs Lincecum

SAN DIEGO -- Here in this hitter's graveyard, Rich Aurilia unearthed something important Thursday night.

His swing, circa 2001.

Aurilia found his potency at the plate and his value to a Giants lineup in desperate need of a contribution. He hit a home run off Chris Young in the seventh inning and the Giants' bullpen continued its dramatic rise from last year's tinderbox squad, protecting Tim Lincecum's fourth victory in a 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

Young and Lincecum exchanged zeroes for six innings, but with the pitch counter in triple-digits for both starters, it was apparent the bullpens would decide the game.

For the first time in a long time, the Giants seemingly had the advantage.

Jack Taschner handled Scott Hairston, who was a human cobra to the Giants last season, while stranding both of Lincecum's runners in the seventh inning. Vinnie Chulk tossed a scoreless eighth and Brian Wilson pitched the ninth to record his seventh save in eight chances.

Redemption was a common thread as the Giants completed a two-game sweep at Petco Park, a place where they dropped eight of nine a year ago.

Amazingly, Aurilia's home run marked the first occasion he touched home plate all season. He hadn't scored a run despite playing in 20 of 22 games and ranking seventh on the team with 57 at-bats. His .193 slugging percentage even trailed that of Brian Bocock (.197), the rookie shortstop who struggled to hit A-ball pitching last year.

Aurilia's outage forced him to lose the primary first base job to rookie John Bowker; he started at third base to give reprieve to Jose Castillo, who had started every game at the position.

Lincecum was dominant again, striking out nine, and the Giants rode him harder than any of his previous 28 major league starts.

His 121 pitches were five more than his career high, which he set last season. He had thrown fewer than 100 pitches in three of his previous four starts this year.

But you could understand manager Bruce Bochy's reticence to take him out. Lincecum's ERA stood at 1.23 after he extended his scoreless streak to 16» innings -- the longest in the major leagues this season.

Lincecum needed a bases-loaded double play from Young to escape the fourth inning and his five walks pushed his pitch count into the red.

Bochy had to hook him after Khalil Greene drew a leadoff walk in the seventh.

Because Clark is a much better hitter from the left side, it's curious that Bochy didn't turn him around by going directly to Taschner. Instead, Clark singled on the first pitch he saw from Lincecum and Taschner was asked to solve an even tougher puzzle.

Taschner walked Brian Giles to load the bases, then Padres Manager Bud Black tapped Hairston off the bench.

There was no greater late-inning threat to the Giants last season than Hairston, who hit seven home runs against them in 50 at-bats -- including two walk-off shots.

But with Tyler Walker unavailable after throwing two innings the previous night, Bochy put his faith in Taschner, knowing he had the stuff to dispatch right-handed hitters.

MacGyver couldn't have done a better job defusing the bomb.

Hairston popped up on the second pitch and Aurilia made the catch in foul territory. Then Taschner got the Padres' best left-handed hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, to ground out sharply to second baseman Ray Durham.

Taschner has inherited 12 runners this season, the most among Giants relievers, and hasn't allowed any to score.

Chulk handed the baton to Wilson, who threw 31 pitches to record a stressful save the previous night.

Wilson ran a full count on leadoff hitter Tad Iguchi, but fired a low strike at the knees. Justin Huber whiffed at three consecutive pitches and Giles drew a walk to bring Hairston to the plate again.

Want proof it's a new year? Hairston had two chances to beat the Giants and couldn't do it. He grounded out to Aurilia to end the game.

This isn't the same Giants bullpen that Hairston abused last year, even though it's mostly composed of the same members. Last season, Giants relievers combined to blow 23 saves and their 33 losses were the most in the National League.