ter flexed his best stuff -- and so did his new club. In the

SAN FRANCISCO -- If Tim Lincecum wants to win without an overpowering fastball, he knows he will have to find his way through games when he is nowhere near his best. And he was nowhere near his best Friday night. And yet, he still won. Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Hicks homered to back a wildly effective Lincecum, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2. "He was bobbing and weaving out there the whole game," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Lincecum (4-3) struck out four and walked six in six innings. He allowed five hits and also had two wild pitches, escaping trouble in nearly every inning. Only 57 of Lincecums 112 pitches were strikes. "Youve got to battle when you dont have your best stuff, your best command. And today was just that," Lincecum said. "Its kind of an ugly win, but Ill take it. Joe Mauer and Chris Parmelee drove in Minnesotas only runs in the third. Sandoval hit a three-run shot in the first, Hicks hit his eighth homer off Kyle Gibson (4-4) in the fourth and drove in another run on a flyout in the seventh. Gibson gave up five runs and five hits in five innings, working quickly and in command for most of his 72-pitch outing. He struck out four and walked none. "I really got beat on three pitches, which is the frustrating part," Gibson said. San Francisco opened its six-game homestand with some pop at the plate and slick manoeuvring on the mound. Hunter Pence extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an infield single after Angel Pagan doubled leading off the first. Pence was originally ruled out, Bochy challenged the call and umpires overturned it after a 33-second video review. Pagan was thrown out at home on Buster Poseys grounder, but not before third baseman Trevor Plouffes throw pulled Brian Dozier off second on what wouldve been an inning-ending double play. Then, Sandoval sent the first pitch he saw over the brick wall in right to put the Giants ahead 3-0. It was Sandovals fifth home run this season. "I just focused and tried to calm myself down a little bit more," Sandoval said. Mauer hit an RBI triple and Parmelee drove in another run for Minnesota in the third to slice San Franciscos lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the inning, Pagan tripled and scored for San Francisco after shortstop Eduardo Escobar couldnt corral Pences grounder. Despite his lack of command, Lincecum kept the Giants in control. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, still searching for consistency as his fastball has faded in recent years, walked two and threw two wild pitches in the third without allowing a run. Sandoval fielded Gibsons grounder at third and threw out Escobar at the plate before Lincecum struck out Dozier to end the inning. In the fifth, Lincecum loaded the bases before getting Escobar to hit a weak groundout to first. Lincecums saved his smoothest inning for his final one, retiring the side in order before leaving to a standing ovation from the announced sellout crowd of 41,514. Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt tossed a scoreless seventh for the Giants. After Javier Lopez allowed two baserunners in the eighth, Jean Machi got pinch-hitter Josmil Pinto to ground into a double-play before pitching a perfect ninth for the save. "We were a little sloppy defensively and we missed plenty of opportunities to get some hits," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "A rough start for us here, and that team over there knows how to take advantage of you." NOTES: The Giants will wait until at least Saturday to decide if RHP Matt Cain, who strained his right hamstring Wednesday at Colorado, will make his next start Monday against the Chicago Cubs. Bochy said Cain "was bouncing around pretty good" in the clubhouse. ... Mauer and Posey, who have each won an MVP at catcher, both started at first base. ... Twins RHP Samuel Deduno (1-2, 3.53 ERA), originally slated to start Sunday, will take the mound on Saturday. Ricky Nolasco will pitch Sunday. ... Ryan Vogelsong (2-2, 3.62) goes for the Giants on Saturday and lefty Madison Bumgarner starts Sunday. Discount Hockey Jerseys . James Erskine said Tuesday that Thorpe was "quite sick" in a Sydney hospital but dismissed media reports the swimmer might lose the use of his left arm. "Hes not in the intensive care," Erskine said. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. http://www.wholesalejerseysnhl.com/ . The NFL says Wednesday that the game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions at Wembley on Oct. 26 will start at 1:30 p. Cheap NHL Jerseys Online . -- Chris Jones and Louisville have done a tremendous job protecting the basketball this season and thats led to easy victories. NHL Jerseys From China . Hall had a goal and three assists in a 5-4 loss to San Jose on Tuesday, had an assist in each of Edmontons next two games the capped the week with a goal and two assists in the Oilers 4-2 win over Anaheim on Sunday.SAN FRANCISCO -- Doug Fister said he never thought about what played out his last time in San Francisco once he took the mound again at AT&T Park, except for how to approach the familiar foes at the plate. The right-hander turned in a solid performance each game -- and this time he got the result he wanted. Fister flipped the script from his previous start in San Francisco during the 2012 World Series, tossing seven scoreless innings to help the Washington Nationals beat Madison Bumgarner and the Giants 2-1 on Tuesday night. "Its still part of how I attack a hitter or two," Fister said. "There are some of the same guys that are over there now. Some of that experience came through and determined what I chose to throw." Bumgarner and the Giants foiled Fister and the Detroit Tigers 2-0 in Game 2 of their World Series sweep. The rematch, albeit on a regular-season stage with a different team, played out in Fisters favour. Jayson Werth and Denard Span each drove in a run during a two-run fifth to snap Bumgarners career-best, six-game winning streak. Werth also threw out a runner at the plate from right field in the sixth. Fister (5-1) allowed eight hits, struck out three and walked one for his fifth straight win. "It was a constant battle tonight," Fister said, "but we were able to do what we wanted to do." Brandon Crawford tripled leading off the ninth and scored on Brandon Hicks groundout for San Franciscos only run. Tyler Clippard escaped a jam in the eighth and Rafael Soriano rebounded in the ninth for his 13th save. Washington has won three in a row and nine of 11. "The Giants have certainly made a habit of coming back and coming back late," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "They put together some pretty good at-bats late and gave themselves a chance. We were able to get it tonight, but you dont want to mess with that too much." The Nationals stopped San Franciscos five-game winning streak with a 9-2 victory in Mondays series opener. And they continued to slow down the team with the best record in baseball by beating its hottest pitcher on a windy, chilly night in San Franciscos waterfront ballpark. Sppan drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Werth singled home another against Bumgarner in the fifth.dddddddddddd That was all Washington needed to end Bumgarners winning streak. Bumgarner (8-4) allowed eight hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one intentionally. The tall left-hander with the deceptive fastball was selected NL player of the month for May after going 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He hadnt lost since April 28 against San Diego. "Theyve got a well-rounded team," Bumgarner said. "It comes down to whether they execute or not, but theyve definitely got the talent over there." It was a far better feeling for Fister than his last start in San Francisco, which came on a warm October evening in 2012. He was struck squarely in the head by Gregor Blancos line drive in the World Series, a ball hit so hard it caromed into shallow centre field, though the 6-foot-8 pitcher appeared unhurt and stayed in the game. Every time the Giants put together a few hits this time, Fister flexed his best stuff -- and so did his new club. In the third, San Francisco put two runners on before Buster Posey struck out. Pablo Sandoval, who finished with three hits and a walk, and Michael Morse singled to start the fourth before Fister induced three consecutive flyouts. In the sixth, Sandoval doubled and tried to score on Crawfords two-out single to right. Instead, Werth charged in to field the hard-hit ball and easily threw out the portly Sandoval at the plate. Clippard allowed two baserunners with one out in the eighth before completing his 20th consecutive scoreless inning. NOTES: Nationals C Wilson Ramos left in the eighth with right hamstring tightness. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday. ... Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon returned to the lineup after sitting out the past three games with a sore right hand. He singled twice, struck out and flied out. ... Giants RHP Santiago Casilla, on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, is scheduled to toss one inning at Class-A San Jose on Thursday and two innings Saturday. ... Matt Cain (1-3, 3.52 ERA) starts for San Francisco against Washingtons Tanner Roark (4-4, 2.91) on Wednesday night. ' ' '