Tim Lincecum to stay in rotation

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SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants have no plans to rest struggling right-hander Tim Lincecum or send him to the bullpen to work out his problems.

The two-time NL Cy Young award winner is winless over his last eight starts. Lincecum also has a 6.00 ERA that is the highest on San Francisco's staff.

Manager Bruce Bochy met with general manager Brian Sabean, pitching coach Dave Righetti and bullpen coach Mark Gardner to discuss what to do with Lincecum and decided to keep him in the rotation.

"(We) talked about a lot of things, including Timmy," Bochy said prior to Tuesday's game against Houston. "Just talked about ways we could maybe help Timmy. Really right now the best thing is to keep throwing Timmy out there."

Lincecum has lost five straight decisions and is 2-7 this season after Texas tagged him Sunday. His next scheduled start is Saturday in Seattle, where he lives in the offseason.

There has been speculation the Giants might have Lincecum skip a start or move him to the bullpen, something they did with Barry Zito in 2008 and again with former pitcher Jonathan Sanchez in 2010.

San Francisco is resisting those options for now and plan to keep Lincecum in the rotation. He turns 28 on Friday and will make his first career start in Safeco Field a day later.

"He's shown signs of being very good," Bochy said. "I know he's had his ups and downs but he's going to take his bullpen tomorrow and he'll be back out there."

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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