Shabab Club players celebrate with the Al-Riyadh International Tournament Cup after beating Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal Club 2-1 in the final in Riyadh Thursday. — SPA ATLANTA — Tim Lincecum was trying to get the pitch inside. It drifted back over the plate. That one mistake was enough to send the World Series champion San Francisco Giants to another tough loss. Mike Minor pitched six crisp innings and Chipper Jones homered off Lincecum for the only run, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 1-0 victory Thursday night. The Giants lost three of four in the series, dropping six games behind Atlanta in the wild-card race. They came into the night 2½ behind Arizona in the NL West. “We've just got to find our luck,” Lincecum said. “We've got to find it soon.” Battered by injuries, San Francisco has lost 14 of its last 20 games. The four-game set against the Braves was similar in style to the thrilling NL division series between the teams last fall. San Francisco knocked off Atlanta 3-1 in the playoffs, with every game decided by one run. This time, the Braves had the edge, the four games decided by a total of five runs. Dodgers 5, Brewers 1: Every time Clayton Kershaw started to stray from the game plan, Dodgers catcher Rod Barajas called for the lefty's best pitch. “Whenever he felt like he was throwing too many breaking balls, we went right back to his fastball — his bread and butter. He's only 23 years old. He's a young kid, but he definitely doesn't pitch like that or act that way,” Barajas said. “He dominates and gives us a great chance to win.” Kershaw throttled the streaking Brewers with eight scoreless innings and Barajas homered, leading Los Angeles to a win over Milwaukee. The NL Central-leading Brewers came in winners of 19 of 21 and were looking to complete a 7-0 homestand. Nationals 3, Reds 1: Jonny Gomes hit a two-run single against his former team and Jordan Zimmermann pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning to lead Washington to the victory. Nationals catcher Jesus Flores also had his first home run in more than two years. Zimmermann (8-10) allowed six hits before leaving with runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth. Ryan Mattheus came on to strike out Paul Janish to end the inning. Mattheus did not face another batter because of a tight right shoulder. The Reds scored the unearned run in the seventh off Henry Rodriguez. Tyler Clippard worked the eighth and Drew Storen closed it out for his 33rd save in 37 chances. In other games it was: Philadelphia 4, Arizona 1; San Diego 3, Florida 1.
