LOS ANGELES (AP) - Tim Lincecum bounced back from consecutive home losses with his third straight road win and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 on Tuesday night, increasing their NL West lead to 1 1/2 games over their division rival.
The two-time NL Cy Young winner allowed one run and five hits in 5 2-3 innings after failing to pitch past the fourth inning in his last start, a loss to Washington last week. Lincecum (7-13) struck out four and walked one while the Giants provided him slightly more than his average of 3.91 runs of support.
A night after Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw combined for 20 strikeouts and no walks in the series opener, Lincecum and Dodgers starter Joe Blanton were less than scintillating in a matchup of pitchers with losing records.
But Lincecum got the job done to earn his first win at Dodger Stadium in five starts and didn't allow any of the big innings that have plagued him this season. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth to earn his sixth save in seven chances.
Blanton (8-12) gave up four runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out six and walked two to fall to 0-3 in four starts with the Dodgers since being acquired from Philadelphia on Aug. 4.
Buster Posey, who started at first base while Hector Sanchez took his spot behind the plate, got things started for the Giants with a two-run single in the first inning. They added two more runs in the fourth on a RBI single by Brandon Crawford and run-scoring double by Angel Pagan.
The Dodgers lost Monday night's series opener 2-1, getting only a ninth-inning homer from Hanley Ramirez, and again failed to generate much offense. Matt Kemp's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the sixth accounted for their run.
Andre Ethier struggled again for the Dodgers, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Notes: The Giants are 9-17 overall in Lincecum's starts this season. ... Dodgers INF Justin Sellers will undergo lower back surgery on Thursday. He has been on the disabled list since May 23 with a bulging disk. ... The Dodgers reinstated RHP Rubby De La Rosa from the 60-day DL and optioned RHP Javy Guerra to Triple-A Albuquerque. Guerra had a 2-3 record with eight saves and a 2.66 ERA while appearing in 44 games. De La Rosa had been on the DL since undergoing Tommy John surgery last August. In the minors this season, he posted a 1-0 record and did not allow a run to score over 12.0 innings in stints with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and the Arizona League Dodgers.
