The Cardinals’ offense was shut down by Giants starter Tim Lincecum for the second time in a week and, despite a solid outing by Joel Pineiro in his second start back from the disabled list, San Francisco pulled out a 3-0 win today.
Lincecum allowed only 6 hits over his 7 scoreless innings and was supported by Aaron Rowand, who hit a solo homerun and an RBI single, and Jose Castillo, who knocked in a run on a double. 3 runs were not much but they were all the Giants needed with Lincecum on the hill. Pineiro pitched well, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing 8 hits and 3 earned runs, but fell to 0-2 on the year with an 8.40 ERA. Brad Thompson pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, but the damage was done.
Leadoff hitter Skip Shumaker continued his strong play, going 2-4 to push his average to .333 on the year. Adam Kennedy, who has bounced back from a rough start to the season, was the only other St. Louis hitter to get multiple hits, going 2-4 and putting his average at .326.
These two teams will close out their series tomorrow afternoon at 1:15pm (Central time), with Braden Looper (3-0, 2.70 ERA) trying to rebound from a rough outing in his previous start against San Francisco lefty Jonathan Sanchez (0-1, 6.00 ERA).
