San Francisco starting pitcher Tim Lincecum kept the Redbird bats relatively quiet as the Giants shut out St. Louis 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The Giants got on the board first in the 3rd inning when Jose Castillo stroked a two out double that went to the wall in left center field, scoring Brian Bocock from second base.
The Giants went up 2-0 an inning later when Aaron Rowand smacked his 1st home run of the year – a 384 foot shot into the San Francisco bullpen.
A third San Francisco run was scored in the 6th as Ray Durham doubled and was driven home on an Aaron Rowand single to left.
The Cards came close on a number of occasions, leaving 7 runners stranded – 6 of them in scoring position.
Lincecum (3-0) pitched 7 innings for the win. St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro (0-2) allowed 3 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings to take the loss. Brian Wilson tossed an inning to earn his 5th save.
The Cardinals (12-6) and Giants (7-11) wrap up their weekend set Sunday afternoon with the rubber game of the series. Braden Looper (3-0) goes to the mound for St. Louis against San Francisco’s Jonathan Sanchez (0-1).
