Aktuelle News! » en the Minnesota Timberwolves were mired in a

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecums days of dominance may be in the past. That doesnt mean he cant dial up flashes of the Freak he once was -- especially against the San Diego Padres. Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner Wednesday and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win. "Ive always been that guy who will kind of go for the strikeout," Lincecum said. "I think my first no-hitter I had 13, so I think I was going for those a little bit more often." "Today I tried to be a little bit more efficient and take what they were going to give me. They were giving me a lot of groundballs and a lot of pop flies, so I was just going to try to keep attacking the way that I was," he said. Lincecum totally shut down the weakest-hitting team in the majors, striking out six and walking one in a 113-pitch outing -- 35 fewer than he needed last July 13 against the Padres in his first no-hitter. Lincecum retired the final 23 batters after walking Chase Headley in the second inning, relying much more on his off-speed stuff than his fastball. Though the Padres hit a few balls hard, San Francisco fielders didnt need to make any exceptional plays to preserve Lincecums gem. The right-hander with two NL Cy Young Awards became just the second pitcher in major league history to twice no-hit the same team. Hall of Famer Addie Joss did it for Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox with a perfect game in 1908 and a no-hitter in 1910. "Its hard enough to do one," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To do two, that puts you in a little different class. I couldnt be happier." Lincecum (6-5) threw the 16th no-hitter in Giants team history. Just one other pitcher has thrown two -- Christy Mathewson for the New York Giants more than 100 years ago. In fact, Lincecum joined Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers with two Cy Young awards and two no-hitters. "Just to be in that company allows me a chance to pat myself on the back a little bit," he said. Making the performance even sweeter was the fact that Lincecum even got two hits of his own, becoming the first pitcher with two hits in a no-hitter since Rick Wise hit two homers for Philadelphia against Cincinnati on June 23, 1971. "Regardless of what they did, I think its cool I got two hits anyway because up to today I only had one and a pretty poor batting average," Lincecum said. "I got that thing above .100 and I feel much better about it." But Lincecum will always be known for his pitching. He arrived as a shaggy-haired phenom nicknamed the Freak in 2007 for his ability to generate tremendous velocity from his slight frame. He won NL Cy Young awards in 2008 and 09 and helped lead the Giants to their first World Series title in San Francisco the following season. As age and wear and tear ate away at his velocity, Lincecum was forced to change what kind of pitcher he is. It hasnt been an easy transformation at times as he posted a losing record the past two seasons as his ERA hovered around 5.00. He was even relegated to the bullpen when the Giants won it all again in 2012 but was brought back with a $35 million, two-year deal last off-season for moments just like this. "I think its been a battle for him at times to make that transformation to what he is now," Bochy said. "Sometimes less is more, and thats what I think if anything, hopefully he learned today." Headley walked with one out in the second after falling behind 1-2 in the count. The Padres began the day worst in the majors in batting average, runs and hits. "He was good. It wasnt a fluke," Headley said. "His split and changeup or whatever you want to call it. If its not the best in baseball, then its one of the best pitches in baseball. Even with the diminished velocity, its still a tremendous pitch. He was able to throw it for strikes when he wanted too." This was the third no-hitter in the majors this year. Clayton Kershaw did it exactly a week ago and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Josh Beckett did it earlier in the season. The Padres, incidentally, are the only franchise in the big leagues that has never pitched a no-hitter. Lincecum made quick work of the San Diego hitters in the late innings. He drew a standing ovation when he batted in the eighth, then got another ovation when he took the mound to begin the ninth. "His rhythm was going," third baseman Pablo Sandoval said. "Thats the best hes pitched. Two no-hitters, thats pretty impressive." Lincecum struck out pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia to open the ninth. Pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal followed with a tapper back to Lincecum, who tossed to first for the out. Will Venable was up next, and Lincecum retired him on an easy grounder to second base. Lincecum took a few steps toward first when the ball was hit, stopped to watch the play and clapped his hand into his glove when it was over. Catcher Hector Sanchez soon met Lincecum for an embrace, and the rest of the Giants joined in the celebration. "It was amazing," Sanchez said. "Anybody wants to be part of something special like this. Thats a great feeling." Buster Posey got four hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Ian Kennedy (5-9) allowed four runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second when Brandon Crawford tripled and Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (5-3, 4.13) is scheduled to start Thursdays series opener against Cincinnati. ... RHP Tyson Ross (6-7, 3.22) starts for the Padres against Arizona on Friday. ... The Padres are hosting a public memorial for Tony Gwynn on Thursday at 7:19 p.m. at Petco Park. Gwynn wore No. 19. David Wright Mets Jersey . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. Travis dArnaud Jersey . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/tug-mcgraw-mets-jersey/. The teams all-time leading scorer, DeRo has won everything there is to win in MLS. Travis dArnaud Mets Jersey .Fucale will not only be one of the local boys, he is also a Montreal Canadiens draft pick and will have a huge cheering section when Canada opens the tournament Dec. Mookie Wilson Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. SALT LAKE CITY -- When the Minnesota Timberwolves were mired in a slump, they figured theyd get back to winning if they shed some sweat. They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. Along the way to sweeping a home-and-home set against the Jazz, Alexey Shved left with a broken nose and Kevin Martin sliced open his right pinkie. "Its crazy. I cant remember two people bleeding like that in the same game," said Nikola Pekovic, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. Love leads the league with 35 double-doubles but he thought it was passing and teamwork that sealed a sweep of the home-and-home set with the Jazz. "Ive been passing the ball all season and guys were converting," said Love, who had eight assists. "I didnt get too many looks and didnt convert many from the 3-point line so I had to figure other ways to be effective." Ricky Rubio has returned to his spontaneous, free-flowing style and had 11 points and 13 assists for the Wolves, who snapped a seven-game losing streak in Utah. "Tonight was a pure team effort," Pekovic said. "We are all good friends between us. On the good nights everything is fine, of course." It was another good night for Minnesota as Corey Brewer scored 19 points and Martin contributed 18. Each time the Jazz threatened to get close in the fourth quarter, J.J. Barea hit big baskets and finished with 15 points to keep the Jazz at bay. "I think we needed that win (on Saturday) and we had a great team effort defensively. It carried on to tonight," Barea said. Gordon Hayward returned from a five-game absence to lead the Jazz with 27 points, but he was the only starter in double figures. The Jazz went 2-3 in Haywards absence, including a 98-72 road loss to Minnesota where Utah set a record for worst field goal percentage in franchise history at 28.8 per cent. "It felt good to be back out there," Hayward said. "But we just didnt get stops tonight. They were too effective offensively." A team that seemed disjointed and frustrated during a three-game losing streak a week ago, the Timberwolves apparently needed a couple of matchups with the Jazz to break out of the funk. The Timberwolves ran crisp sets and were eager to make the extra pass to wide-open teammates.dddddddddddd. Minnesota led 84-62 at the end of three quarters as it assisted on 23 of its first 30 field goals. Picking up right where they left off on Saturday, the Wolves using a 17-2 run in the first quarter to stake a commanding lead that ballooned to 18 points. Love hit a 3-pointer and Brewer dunked to make the score 30-12 in the first quarter. "I was pleased with the way we came out and controlled the game from beginning to end," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I thought (the Jazz) would come out with so much energy at the start of the game." Instead the Timberwolves made the Jazz look flat and flustered and soon they were on their way to consecutive wins for the first time since they beat Washington and Milwaukee on Dec. 27-28. Hayward was having the best three-game set of his career before injuring his left hip and being sidelined five games. But he scored early and often despite the layoff. His teammates, though, seemed powerless to stop Minnesotas attack. Alec Burks had 18 points but the Jazz missed starting centre Derrick Favours, who was out with a right hip injury. "Defensively, he protects the rim for us," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. "We missed that." Of course, Minnesotas plan to was get the ball to Love and Pekovic. "We knew we had the advantage against them inside. After last game, we wanted to keep doing that. We had a nice balance of looking at those two guys, plus getting other open looks," Adelman said. After losing 14 of their first 15 games, the Jazz have been playing about .500 and hadnt lost two consecutive since losing to San Antonio and Miami on Dec. 14 and 16. The Timberwolves were again the aggressors against the Jazz and made 22 of 24 free throws. Haywards 3-pointer drew the Jazz 58-47, but Minnesota responded with a 10-0 surge that ended with Martins three-point play. NOTES: The Timberwolves wore their black short-sleeved uniforms. . The Jazz had three points nullified in the third quarter because Trey Burkes 3-pointer came after the shot clock expired, the ruling came during a time out more than four minutes of elapsed game time after the shot. . The Jazz are 1-18 when Enes Kanter starts. He had four points and six rebounds. ' ' '