Bonds goes 0-for-2; Lincecum, 'pen four-hit Brewers

Giants 8, Brewers 0

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A 23-year-old rookie pitcher stole some attention from the slugger soon to be 43.

That was probably just fine with Barry Bonds.

Tim Lincecum allowed four hits in eight innings of one of his best outings yet, Pedro Feliz homered and drove in three runs and the San Francisco Giants won again without a hit from Bonds, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 8-0 on Saturday.

Bonds remained at 753 home runs, two from tying Hank Aaron's record. It seemed the San Francisco star would resume his pursuit of 755 back in the Bay Area where he is so beloved in the Giants' waterfront ballpark.

Though manager Bruce Bochy didn't rule out that his star could play Sunday's series finale.

"We'll wait and see tomorrow," the skipper said. "I didn't say it was etched in stone."

Bonds, who had been expected to take the day off Sunday, will face another one of Aaron's former clubs -- the Atlanta Braves -- starting Monday night. And he should be fresh: The left fielder didn't even have to touch the ball on defense. He will likely want to play all seven games of the homestand, including his birthday on Tuesday.

Lincecum (5-2) struck out eight and won his third straight decision, helping San Francisco win a series for the first time in the second half. He retired his first 11 batters before 11-time Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel couldn't barehand Ryan Braun's high bouncer that went for an infield single.

Lincecum had no idea he'd been perfect up to that point.

"It was too high," Vizquel said. "It was close. It would have been nice. I hate to lose a no-hitter like that."

Bonds went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and two walks -- one intentional -- a day after going 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a walk in an 8-4 win. He homered twice Thursday in a 9-8 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Giants haven't won in the last five games in which Bonds has homered since he hit No. 747 on June 11 in a 4-3 victory over Toronto.

The seven-time MVP struck out swinging to end the first, grounded out to the pitcher leading off the fourth, walked on 10 pitches in the sixth and drew his 31st intentional free pass and 98th walk overall in the eighth. And that was his day -- Fred Lewis entered as a pinch-runner and replaced Bonds in the outfield in the bottom half.

Lincecum, San Francisco's top draft pick in 2006 out of Washington, got through three innings on 31 pitches. He was at his best on a day when all eyes were on Bonds and his home run chase in Aaron's former city.

Lincecum visibly chomped his gum, and the kid with the funky delivery who's called "Franchise" by teammates showed why San Francisco thinks so highly of him. He walked only one pitching in the same ballpark where he was tagged for six runs and five hits in four innings June 19.

Bochy was going to let him pitch the ninth, but changed his mind after the Giants scored five runs in a long top half of the inning. Lincecum threw 103 pitches.

"It's kind of, I guess, a 180-degree turn," said Lincecum, who has been working to keep his wrist loose on his changeup. "I'm just feeding off the good stuff, disregarding the bad stuff and moving on."

Jack Taschner finished the four-hitter, San Francisco's seventh shutout of the season. The Brewers were blanked for the third time.

Feliz hit an RBI single in the second and a two-run homer in the fourth -- scoring Ryan Klesko on both hits.

Dave Roberts had an RBI infield single in the ninth and Randy Winn also singled in a run. Ray Durham added a three-run double to make it 8-0.

"The last couple days there's been a lot of attention on Barry," Roberts said. "It was nice to pick him up."

Dave Bush (8-8) struck out seven and avoided becoming the 444th pitcher to allow a homer to Bonds, but lost for only the second time in seven starts. The NL Central-leading Brewers caught a break when Chicago lost 3-2 earlier in the day to Arizona at Wrigley Field, keeping Milwaukee's division lead at 2 1/2 games.

"It bothers me to lose two games. That's what bothers me, all right?" Brewers manager Ned Yost barked when asked about the poor performance in a TV game.

Bonds said before the game he wants to break the record soon -- and the Giants sure would love for it to happen at home this coming week.

"As fast as possible, but nobody is cooperating right now. Not even myself," Bonds said.

Bonds said earlier Saturday he is unfazed by the threat of an indictment.

"Do I look concerned?" Bonds asked a small group of reporters by his locker. "You guys just want more stories about me. It's unreal.

"But I'm not discussing it. I haven't been discussing it forever and I will not discuss it. You guys are going to write your story what you're going to write. Just do that. Leave me out of it."

Game notes
Johnny Estrada was hit on his right arm by Taschner's pitch in the ninth and left the game. ... Vizquel played his 2,512th game at SS, moving past Ozzie Smith and into sole possession of second place on the career list behind Venezuelan countryman Luis Aparicio. ... The Brewers reinstated RHP Chris Spurling from the bereavement list and optioned OF Gabe Gross to Triple-A Nashville. ... Milwaukee drew 43,180 fans for its 18th sellout.