Questionable balk costly for Lincecum

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecum picked a bad time for the first balk of his young career.

The Giants right-hander saw his season-opening four-game winning streak come to a frustrating end, as he balked home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of a 3-2 loss to the Rockies on Tuesday night at AT&T Park.

This balk seemed to arise more from a misunderstanding than an attempt to deceive the runner, though.

With the game tied, 2-2, the Rockies' Chris Iannetta was at third with one out. Lincecum was looking in to catcher Bengie Molina for the sign, when Molina raised his right hand to ask for time.

Lincecum stopped his motion and then plate ump Gary Darling called a balk, pointing Iannetta home with the go-ahead run.

Lincecum said he didn't stop until he "saw hands go up" to call for time. He said it looked like Molina and Darling raised their hands "simultaneously." Darling said Lincecum balked before time was called.

"Lincecum flinched," Darling said. "Bengie was giving him the signs, then he started, stopped . . . Bengie tried to cover for him by calling the timeout."

Molina did not make himself available to comment after the game. He and manager Bruce Bochy argued to no avail. Bochy eventually was ejected.

Although Bochy felt the call was critical, he said the Giants made enough other mistakes that they couldn't blame the loss entirely on the umpire.

"We made too many mistakes on the bases," he said.

In the first inning, Fred Lewis broke home late on an attempt to steal when Eugenio Velez tried to steal second. The Rockies easily nailed him at the plate.

In the bottom of the seventh, just after the Rockies took the lead, Randy Winn led off with a double, but he was thrown out trying to go to third on a ground ball to shortstop.

Bochy said Winn didn't get a good read on the ball. Winn said he regretted the play "in hindsight . . . I was trying to be aggressive and they made a play."

Later in the inning, the Giants had runners at the corners with one out, and Velez was picked off first.

In the ninth, the Giants had a runner at second with one out when Winn swung at a 3-0 pitch and popped it up.

The player who scored the two biggest runs of the night for the Rockies, Iannetta, was not even supposed to be playing.

Infielder Jeff Baker had to be scratched from the lineup because of a broken blood vessel in his hand, suffered during batting practice. In the first inning, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki strained his left quad pivoting to make a throw.

With no infielders left on the bench, the Rockies had to put Iannetta, a catcher, at third and move third baseman Garrett Atkins to second. It was Iannetta's first game at a position other than catcher.

Iannetta led off the top of the second with a homer, tying the game. He scored the tiebreaking run on the balk after his leadoff double in the seventh.

Contact Staff Writer Jeff Fletcher at 521-5489 or jeff.fletcher@pressdemocrat.com.