Lincecum stars for SF
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Freak really showed up for San Francisco on his biggest stage yet.
Tim Lincecum pitched a two-hitter and struck out 14 in a dominating postseason debut, and the Giants scored their only run after a questionable umpiring call to beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0 in Game 1 of their NL division series Thursday night.
"As far as shutouts go I think that was up there with my better ones," said Lincecum. "I was pretty anxious to get out there a couple days ago. You just have to deal with those extra days."
The two-time NL Cy Young winner pitched a gem and outdueled playoff veteran Derek Lowe and caught a break, too.
Cody Ross singled in the only run Lincecum needed in the fourth after Buster Posey was called safe by umpire Paul Emmel on a steal of second.
"I guess it's a good thing we don't have instant replay right now," Posey said. "It was a beautiful slide, wasn't it?"
It was the first career steal for Posey, even though he appeared to be tagged out by Brooks Conrad .
"I haven't seen it," Braves mananger Bobby Cox said. "Some of the guys came down after that inning and said he was out by six, eight inches. From the dugout you can't see anything."
Lincecum struck out Derrek Lee for the third time to end the 119-pitch masterpiece in 2 hours, 26 minutes. He became just the 12th pitcher with 14 or more strikeouts in a postseason game.
Yankees 5, Twins 2
Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees yet another clutch performance in the postseason, pitching seven smooth innings to help New York take a 2-0 lead in their AL division series.
Lance Berkman hit a home run in the fifth and a go-ahead double in the seventh - right after a disputed pitch led to the ejection of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire - and sent the Twins to their 11th straight postseason loss.
Rangers 6, Rays 0
Two dominating pitching performances and a long home run by playoff neophyte Michael Young have Texas on the verge of winning a postseason series for the first time.
Young hit a three-run homer one pitch after a disputed check-swing that prompted the ejection of Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, helping C.J. Wilson and the AL West champions beat the Rays for a 2-0 lead in their AL division series.
Texas is the only current major league franchise that's never won a playoff series. After taking two games on the road, that can change when the best-of-five matchup shifts to Rangers Ballpark for Game 3 on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler also homered for the Rangers, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
