Giants 4, Phillies 1
Tim Lincecum pitched six superb innings while battling the flu and Pablo Sandoval homered as the San Francisco Giants posted a 4-1 victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
Nate Schierholtz had an RBI single for National League West-leading San Francisco, which has won 11 of its last 15 games.
The NL East-leading Phillies, meanwhile, have lost consecutive contests for the first time since a four-game skid from May 31-June 4.
Carlos Beltran, who is a six-time All-Star acquired from the New York Mets on Wednesday, went 0-for-4 while batting third in his first game with the defending World Series champions. He did, however, make a tumbling catch in right-center field.
The Giants traded for Beltran to inject life into their sputtering offense, but Lincecum (9-8) didn’t need much help on this night. The righthander, who was scratched from both Tuesday and Wednesday's starts, allowed just three hits and struck out six.
Sandoval gave Lincecum and the Giants a 1-0 lead in the second when he wrapped a 1-0 changeup from Kyle Kendrick (5-5) around the left field pole for an opposite field homer - his 10th of the season.
Schierholtz had a run-scoring single in the fourth, the Giants tacked a pair of runs in the seventh and three relievers bridged the gap to Brian Wilson, who earned his National League-leading 33rd save in 37 chances this season.