SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres for the second time in less than a year with a masterful performance in a 4-0 home victory in the National League here Wednesday. The 30-year-old right-hander struck out six and yielded one walk in dominating the Padres, the team he also hurled his first career no-hitter against last July. “I wasn't really thinking about it out there, and at the very end it caught me by surprise, and what do you know? You got a no-hitter,” Lincecum told reporters. The slightly built Lincecum, nicknamed “The Freak,” breezed through the Padres in the ninth, retiring pinch-hitters Chris Denorfia and Yasmani Grandal before getting Will Venable to ground out to second baseman Joe Panik to end the game. Teammates rushed to the mound to celebrate the no-hitter, mobbing Lincecum in delight. Lincecum became the second Giant to pitch two no-hitters, silencing the San Diego Padres before an AT&T Park audience that was anything but silent during the game. Baseball Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals in 1901 and the Chicago Cubs in 1905 for the then-New York Giants. Lincecum, who also helped himself with the bat by going 2-for-3 in the game and scoring two runs, threw 113 pitches, 73 for strikes, before a crowd of more than 41,000 in the afternoon game as he improved to 6-5 for the season. The two-time Cy Young Award winner joined Hall of Famer Addie Joss as the only pitcher to no-hit the same team twice, according to Elias Sports. Lincecum's gem was the third no-hitter of the Major League Baseball season following no-hitters tossed by Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Josh Beckett and Clayton Kershaw. Brewers 9, Nationals 2 Home runs by second baseman Scooter Genentt and left fielder Khris Davis helped the Milwaukee Brewers to victory over the Washington Nationals. Both home runs came off Washington ace Stephen Strasburg (6-6), who went just 4-2/3 innings and gave up seven runs, eight hits and a season-high three walks. Cardinals 9, Rockies 6 The St. Louis Cardinals overcame one big inning against starter Marco Gonzales in his major league debut, coming from behind to beat the Colorado Rockies. Trailing by four runs after the fourth inning, the Cardinals scored five times in the final three innings. The 22-year-old Gonzales pitched five innings and gave up five runs and seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Marlins 3, Phillies 2 Henderson Alvarez won his third straight decision and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in two runs as the Miami Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies. Left fielder Marcell Ozuna and third baseman Casey McGehee had two hits each for the Marlins. Reds 4, Cubs 1 Matt Latos tossed seven strong innings, Jay Bruce went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs. Latos (1-0) allowed one run on five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter while lowering his earned-run average to 2.89. American League Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3 Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs while Hiroki Kuroda pitched into the seventh inning as the New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays. Kuroda (5-5) allowed eight hits, two walks and three runs in 6-1/3 innings to win for the first time in his last five starts. Teixeira, the Yankees first baseman, capped a four-run third with a two-run homer to provide a 4-1 lead over the Blue Jays. Tigers 8, Rangers 6 The Detroit Tigers ran their winning streak to six games with a victory over the Texas Rangers. The Rangers continued their slide, with their seven successive loss. Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez all had two RBIs each for Detroit. Other results: Orioles 5, White Sox 4; Angels 6, Twins 2; Red Sox 5, Mariners 4. Inter-League A's 8, Mets 5 First baseman Brandon Moss hit a two-run homer in the first inning and left fielder Yoenis Cespedes delivered a three-run double in the second as the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Mets. Coco Crisp finished 3-for-5 with a fourth-inning solo homer and two runs scored for the A's. Rays 5, Pirates 1 Amid trade rumors, David Price tossed a five-hit gem as Tampa Bay downed the Pittsburgh Pirates. In striking out 11, Price became the first since Johan Santana in 2004 to post five consecutive double-figure strikeout games. He improved to 6-7 this season, going 8-1/3 innings and walking just one. Braves 4, Astros 0 Left-hander Alex Wood returned from Triple-A Gwinnett to pitch seven shutout innings and, backed by left fielder Justin Upton, led the Atlanta Braves to a win over the Houston Astros. Braves left fielder Upton drove in three runs and older brother B.J. doubled and scored on a Tommy La Stella groundout in the eighth.
