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MIAMI -- Brad Hand earned his first victory as a starter since 2011 when he outpitched Tim Lincecum by a margin of one curveball. Minnesota Timberwolves Shirts . Lincecum bounced a curve for a wild pitch that scored a runner from third in the seventh inning, putting the Miami Marlins ahead to stay Sunday as they snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the San Francisco Giants 3-2. "Its a very tough way to lose a ballgame," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Timmy threw great." NL hits leader Casey McGehee homered for the second time this season to help Miami avert a three-game series sweep. Hand (1-2) gave the Marlins shaky rotation a welcome boost by pitching seven innings to match a career high, and he allowed two runs. The left-hander had been 1-12 previously as a starter. "He got a little squirrelly a couple of times but was able to get it back," manager Mike Redmond said. "Thats what were looking for. Its all about consistency. We want this guy to be in our rotation. We feel he has the stuff. It comes down to him going out and doing it." Hand allowed six hits and one walk. He has a 3.22 ERA in four starts since rejoining the rotation. "I was just trying to go out there and get deep into the game," he said. "Ill try to build on this one and go out there in five days and do it again." Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 24 chances. Lincecum (9-6) allowed three runs in seven innings, ending his streak of wins in four consecutive starts. With the score 2-all, Adeiny Hechavarria doubled to start Miamis seventh, took third on a sacrifice and came home when Lincecum misfired a curve to Reid Johnson, and the ball caromed away from catcher Hector Sanchez. "I was just trying to get him to chase and be aggressive in that situation," Lincecum said. "I didnt do that, and the ball squirted away." McGehee came in with 118 hits and 54 RBIs, but the two-run homer in the first inning was his first since May 10. "Its a little weird," the Marlins cleanup hitter said. "I would have thought maybe I would have run into a couple more. But it doesnt bother me too much, and until the guys give me a hard time about it, I dont really think about it." McGehee had two hits to hike his average to .322. He also made a barehanded grab and throw at third base to rob Buster Posey of a hit in the eighth. The Giants offence, which has sputtered for much of July, suffered a relapse after three consecutive robust games. Their final 12 batters went down in order. Posey drove in their runs with a double in the third. Miami won with only six hits and despite a succession of basepath blunders. The Marlins had three runners tagged out between second and third in the first three innings. "What irritates me at times is it takes away from a nice win," Redmond said. "Were making mistakes we shouldnt make and just cant happen." NOTES: Giants 1B Brandon Belt will go on either the seven-day or 15-day DL because of a concussion, Bochy said. Belt was struck by a ball in the face during batting practice Saturday. ... Marlins RHP Henderson Alvarez may be able to make his next turn as scheduled, depending on how he feels in the next couple of days, the Marlins said. He left Saturdays game with a bruised left shin after being hit by a comebacker. ... Before the game, the Marlins optioned INF Ed Lucas to Triple-A New Orleans and recalled RHP Anthony DeSclafani from New Orleans. ... Giants 2B Marco Scutaro (stiff neck) was back in the starting after missing three games and singled in the third for his first hit this season. ... RHP Ryan Vogelsong (5-7, 3.86) is scheduled to pitch for the Giants when they open a four-game series Monday at Philadelphia against LHP Cliff Lee (4-4, 3.18). ... RHP Tom Koehler (6-7, 3.99) is scheduled to start for the Marlins when they open a four-game series Monday at Atlanta against RHP Julio Teheran (9-6, 2.71). Wholesale Timberwolves Jerseys . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. Jake Layman Jersey .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Colts by 5RECORD VS. SPREAD — Cincinnati 8-8, Indianapolis 11-5SERIES RECORD — Colts lead 18-10LAST MEETING — Colts beat Bengals 27-0, Oct. https://www.cheaptimberwolves.com/470j-p...olves.html . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil.TORONTO – Standing comfortably by his dressing room stall, David Clarkson refuses to dodge questions about a goal drought thats lingered 10 games into the start of his Maple Leafs career. Hes willing answer queries for as long as needed. "Ask whatever you want," he says. And he understands the questions. But he also knows why he was brought into the fold in Toronto and why Dave Nonis and company chose to pony up seven years at $36.75 million. "I wasnt brought here to score 50 goals," Clarskon said earnestly after practice on Monday morning. "I was brought here for that full game that I bring, competing every night." Nonis made that point clear on the day he signed the Mimico native last July. The considerable size and weight of the deal aside – not to mention the 30 goals he scored two seasons ago – internal expectations for the 29-year-old did not hinge strictly on offence but instead on the range of tools and experience he could contribute to a group prospectively on the rise. And though he hasnt scored, with bad luck in a mostly defensive role primarily to blame, Clarkson has generally played that part with the Leafs, admittedly still adjusting to the new confines of life in Toronto. "He hasnt really let it affect anything about him," James van Riemsdyk said of Clarksons goal drought during a conversation with the Leaf Report. "I think hes come in and filled his role; [hes] played hard, finished checks, stuck up for his teammates and had a couple tough bounces as far as goal-scoring [goes]..." Predictably pesky and a willing physical combatant, Clarkson has actually been at his best as a puck-controlling, forechecking burden deep in the offensive zone – something the group at large has struggled with until spurts recently. Effective in that regard mostly alongside Mason Raymond, Clarkson leads the team in puck possession (CORSI,) despite starting many of his shifts in the defensive zone. "Thats something Ive always brought," said Clarkson, who has three assists, including a pair in the past two games. "In my career, Ive always been known to be a guy that down low is hard to play against, thats always in the blue paint, winning battles down low, finishing checks and driving the other team crazy." An admitted adjustment early on, Clarkson has been employed in a primarily defensive role so far, matched up against opposing top lines more often than not. Hes held his own in such duties – on the ice for just four goals against. Never was his effectiveness in this capacity more pronounced than his second game of the year. Playing alongside Raymond and Dave Bolland, Clarkson helped keep Sidney Crosby off the scoresheet for just the second time all season (to that point.) "The whole game, I was trying to hit Sid or trying to hit Malkin every shift because, if those guys are a little bit hesitant that you might do something, all of sudden maybe theyre looking over their shoulder and not as effective," he said. "I always try to play that same way." A Cup finalist with the Devils in 2012, Clarksons veteran credentials have also held sway among his more youthful teammates – all but a handful are younger than his 29 years. Nearly toppling the veteran Bruins in the playoffs last May, the LLeafs looked to Clarkson and Bolland for aid in the leadership department this past summer. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys. "Hes one of those guys you can look at to be a constant out there," James Reimer told the Leaf Report. "Hes just a good leader and hes a good pro. And a young team, thats what a lot of the time we need. You need those people that you can look up to." Reimer points the manner in which Clarkson has handled the early string of misfires offensively. "Hes not getting rattled, not breaking his stick, not swearing up and down," said the 25-year-old netminder. "He just comes to work every day." Several factors have worked to hold Clarkson in check offensively, luck and role most prominently among them. A sign of his unluckiness to date: the Leafs boast an even-strength shooting percentage of a paltry 2.6 per cent when Clarksons been on the ice this season, lowest on the team (with a minimum of 10 games played.) The several opportunities he has had, including a jam play opposite Jhonas Enroth on Saturday and a squeaker through the five-hole of Cory Schneider a week earlier, have fallen just shy of crossing the line. In addition to bad luck, Clarksons role has also changed from where it left off with the Devils. A first unit power-play contributor in Jersey, he is, at best, a second unit option in Toronto – stuck behind the skillful likes of van Riemsdyk, Raymond, Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri, and Tyler Bozak when healthy. Clarkson, who totaled 14 power-play goals and 24 power-play points the past two seasons, has averaged 1:50 per game on the man advantage thus far, down from the nightly 3:33 he garnered with the Devils last season. Not helping his cause offensively either is the limited amount of even-strength shifts hes started in the offensive zone – slightly above 17 per cent, lowest on the team – nor the amount hes shot the puck to date; just two per game, down considerably from the past two seasons. "We think that David Clarkson has got a lot to offer to our hockey club and hes had his fair share of chances," said coach Randy Carlyle. "Hes a little bit snake-bitten, but if he continues to go to the net the way hes been going and we continue to drive that middle lane and get pucks directed around him hell score some goals for us. We believe that." With career-highs of 30 goals and 46 points, the production is unlikely to ever match the annual $5.2 million pay grade, but rightly or wrongly, thats not why the Leafs signed Clarkson in the first place. "If David Clarkson doesnt score 30 goals in a Leaf uniform, but provides all the other things that we know hes going to provide were pretty comfortable were a better team," Nonis said on July 5. Clarkson says the early drought may have bothered him as a younger player, what with the now daily barrage of questions and pressure to contribute offensively, but with age, experience and a family, he appears neither frustrated nor agitated. He knows his poor luck is bound to change, also understanding the manner in which he can affect the game otherwise. "Theres so much that he brings to this team," Reimer said. “When he starts scoring, honestly itll just be a bonus." ' ' '