PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Tim Lincecum outdueled Roy Halladay in one of the most highly anticipated pitching match-ups in years as the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in the opening game of the National League Championship Series on Saturday.
San Francisco outfielder Cody Ross provided the offensive fireworks with two solo home runs off Halladay, who surrendered four runs over seven innings and took the loss.
"We thought it would be a close game, which it was," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "It's a long series here. It's a start. That's all it is right now.
"The important thing was to get a win off the start to give the team a sense of confidence."Lincecum, the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner, pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out eight before relievers Javier Lopez and Brian Wilson closed it out.
The Phillies got seven hits off the Giants' three pitchers and manage Charlie Manuel admitted he was worried about his team's quiet bats.
"I'm concerned," he told reporters. "We struck out 13 times tonight. We've got to hit better and we have to score more runs."
San Francisco tagged Halladay for two runs in the fifth to take a cozy 4-1 lead and silence what had been a raucous, towel-waving crowd of nearly 46,000 on a chilly night.
Former Phillie Pat Burrell smacked a two-out double off the left-field wall to score Buster Posey from first, and then Juan Uribe lined a single up the middle to score Burrell.
The Phillies closed to within 4-3 in the sixth when Jayson Werth belted a two-run homer, the ball landing over the right-field wall just beyond the reach of Nate Schierholtz.
Wilson, however, shut the door, giving up one hit while striking out four in 1-1/3 innings to collect the save.
San Francisco has little time to savour its victory with Game Two of the best-of-seven series on Sunday.
PITCHING BATTLES
PITCHING BATTLES
Both Lincecum and Halladay battled furiously though neither was at his best.
Lincecum was not as dominant as he was in his last start, a 14-strikeout, two-hit shutout of Atlanta in the opening game of the divisional series.
Halladay, meanwhile, gave up eight hits while striking out seven and walking none. In his last outing, Halladay threw the second no-hitter during the postseason in a 4-0 gem over the Cincinnati Reds.
The right-hander had a rough time handling Ross, who hit a homer in the third and another in the fifth.
"I try to take pride in going up there every single bat and try to get something going for my team, whether it's drawing a walk or hitting a home run," said Ross.
"Anything that you can do to spark your club and to get them, get the emotions rolling and keep it going. That's what I'm trying to do.
"I'm not trying to go up there every single at bat trying to hit a home run to break up a no hitter or try to get a hit off Halladay. That's not what you're trying to do up there.
"But I'll take it and we'll move on tomorrow. It's a great game tonight but we have some more business to take care of."
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