Philadelphia, PA – Brandon Crawford hit a grand slam and drove in five as the San Francisco Giants took a 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies to open a three-game series.
Ryan Theriot went 4-for-5 with a run scored while Nate Schierholtz scored twice for the Giants, who have won six of their last seven games.
Tim Lincecum (4-10) came into the game with a 9.00 earned run average on the road this season and had dropped his past five road decisions, but he snapped that streak and lowered the ERA thanks to giving up just two runs over seven innings. He struck out six and walked two while giving up five hits to win as the guest for the first time since April 23 at New York against the Mets, a span of seven starts.
"He was pitching with confidence," said San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy about Lincecum. "He had good stuff, he used his fastball effectively. He pounded the strike zone well tonight. I thought he had good tempo tonight. He stayed under control. He wasn't overthrowing. He threw quality strikes."
Ryan Howard hit a solo home run while Vance Worley (5-6) gave up six runs on six hits with three walks and nine strikeouts over six innings of work for the Phillies, who have dropped their past two after winning four straight.
The first run of the game came in the fourth inning as Shane Victorino and Chase Utley each singled to start the frame to put runners on the corners. Lincecum then slipped off the mound as he was about to throw a pitch and was called for a balk, allowing Victorino to come home. The Phils later loaded the bases with two outs, but Placido Polanco hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
The lead didn't last long, though, as the Giants tied it in the fifth. With one out, Schierholtz singled and moved to second on a Crawford groundout. Eli Whiteside then hit a double over the head of Hunter Pence in right to make it a 1-1 game.
In the sixth, the Giants took a big lead. The first three batters reached base to pack the bags and Pablo Sandoval broke the tie with a sacrifice fly. After Schierholtz walked, Crawford clubbed an 0-1 fastball over the wall in right for his second career grand slam and a 6-1 lead.
"I missed my spots. Got hurt on the one pitch really," said Worley. "I felt strong. Everything was coming off the way I wanted to. Just missed."
The Phils got one back in the bottom of the sixth when Howard led off the frame with his second home run of the season, but the Giants got it back in the eighth on Crawford's RBI single that plated Sandoval.
Game Notes
Victorino, who went 1-for-4 in the game, is now one hit shy of 1,000 for his career...Giants first baseman Buster Posey, who normally plays catcher, went 0-for-3 to snap a seven-game hitting streak...The Giants took two of three from the Phils in San Francisco in April...Lincecum improved to 5-2 in 11 meetings against the Phils...Worley fell to 2-1 in three starts against the Giants.
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