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SD@SF: Lincecum shines in a victory over Padres

Tim Lincecum hasn't heard any boos from Giants fans, but he understands if the San Francisco faithful might be a little frustrated with him.

Lincecum enters the finale of the Bay Bridge Series against the A's on Sunday with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He's thrown seven innings or more only twice this season. He has exactly one quality start heading into his ninth outing of the year, and that came against the lowly Padres.

"I think it's easier for us as players to notice just because we're highly critical of ourselves, so we notice when those kinds of things stand out," Lincecum said. "I'm not saying it's a high number of people; it just stands out a lot more than you'd want it to."

He'll have a chance to silence doubts from himself and those in AT&T Park on Sunday when he squares off with Bartolo Colon. The two-time National League Cy Young winner still feels like his fans have his back, but he certainly understands why they would be "fed up or frustrated" with his inconsistent pitching this season.

There are signs that he'll come around and be the Timmy of old -- 48 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings and no homers allowed since April 6 -- but they have yet to turn into run-preventing results.

"I'm doing my work to do what I need to do out there, even though the outcome isn't happening," he said. "I want my fans -- our fans, our team's fans -- to have as much faith in me as I have in myself.

"I'm going to take the positives that I had from the last couple of games and just put it all together, and all together hopefully the outcome is better."

Colon, meanwhile, has been completely off his game in May. He ended a strong April with a 2.53 ERA, but has gone 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP, along with a .414 opponents' average, in three May starts. His seemingly diminished velocity has returned, however, and he might be better off in AT&T Park than he would be at home. Colon heads into this matchup with the eighth-lowest road ERA (2.31) compared to a 7.06 mark in Oakland.

This is the veteran's first start against the Giants since June 12, 2003, when he was with the White Sox. He is 16-12 with a 3.94 ERA in 36 career Interleague starts.

A's: Crisp could soon come off disabled list
• Outfielder Coco Crisp, sidelined by an inner ear infection, is eligible to come off the disabled list. He could come off as soon as Sunday, if he deems himself ready without a Minor League rehab assignment, but it's unknown whether that will happen.

Crisp hasn't played since May 2. He is batting .194 with a .260 on-base percentage, one extra-base hit (a double), five RBIs and four stolen bases on the season.

• The A's don't know when Yoenis Cespedes (strained muscle in left hand) will begin swinging a bat again, though Melvin said that Monday -- one day before he's eligible to come off the DL -- is a possibility.

• Left-hander Brett Anderson, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, has been shut down with forearm stiffness. It's not uncommon, and Melvin wasn't too concerned about it since Anderson is ahead of schedule, but the lefty will still "slow down for a few days."

Giants: Crawford settling into No. 2 spot
• Shortstop Brandon Crawford's offense was almost an afterthought heading into the season, with the hope being that he'd hit just enough to avoid negating his excellent defense. But it's hard to be an afterthought when you're batting second, as Crawford has found himself doing in three consecutive games.

Crawford went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs there on Thursday, 1-for-5 with an RBI on Friday and 2-for-4 on Saturday.

"It's to have him get some better pitches," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Also, I think he's earned it a little bit. His at-bats have gotten a little better, and we're searching for that two-hole hitter. He's a guy that can pull the ball. I think I'm going to stay with that."

• Not at all known for its patience at the plate, San Francisco has drawn 33 walks over its last five games.

Worth noting
• Giants center fielder Angel Pagan has hit safely in his last 10 games and in 30 of his last 31.

• The A's have lost 11 straight games at AT&T Park, dating back to June 2009.

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