Lincecum shines in return, baffles Rockies

Tim Lincecum pitched seven strong innings in his return from a balky back, Eugenio Velez drove in four runs and the San Francisco Giants gained ground on the NL wild card-leading Colorado Rockies with a 9-1 victory Monday night. Bengie Molina homered and scored three runs and Aaron Rowand drove in two runs for the Giants, who moved within 3 1/2 games of the Rockies in the wild-card race. Juan Uribe and Fred Lewis also drove in runs for San Francisco.