No show: Lincecum says he didn't hot-dog

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants rookie Tim Lincecum seemed surprised Wednesday to hear that Cubs players thought he was showboating during a mostly dominant performance Tuesday night. And his manager defended him by alluding to the Cubs' all-time king of gestures and showmanship, Carlos Zambrano.

''Every staff has someone who gets excited when they get a big out, including that team,'' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Outfielder Cliff Floyd, who drove in the go-ahead runs in the Cubs' five-run ninth inning in a 5-1 victory, cited Ryan Theriot's comebacker that Lincecum flipped into the air before throwing to first. Lincecum, who was pitching at the University of Washington just last year, also punched the air after the final out of the eighth.

''He was rolling along. You saw him showboating a little,'' said Floyd, who didn't seem particularly bothered by it and stopped short of suggesting it had anything to do with the Cubs' big ninth.

''I've never done stuff to show up a team or hot-dog it,'' said Lincecum, who added he was extra emotional Tuesday because he was pitching for the first time since the death of his grandfather. ''It's just what I instinctively did.''

Cubs manager Lou Piniella also downplayed Lincecum's displays.

''The kid was excited and throwing the ball well. He had as good of stuff as we've seen all year,'' Piniella said. ''The ninth inning is the toughest inning. I thought Boch did the exact right thing by sending the kid back out there. And all of a sudden, he probably got set back a little bit with the leadoff double.''

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez's days of getting scheduled days off for his tender knee are over.

With the Cubs in the stretch drive of a division race, and with Ramirez recently getting most of a week off to tend to a sore wrist, the Cubs' cleanup hitter will play every day unless he specifically needs a day, Piniella said.

''I talk to him from time to time, but he's been fine,'' Piniella said. ''We're in a situation here where we've got to win some baseball games. As long as he's able to go, we'll keep playing him.''

Injured left fielder Alfonso Soriano (quadriceps) ran through a series of trainer-supervised tests before the game, including full batting practice and base-running. He appeared to fare well but is not expected back for a week to 10 days.

Coming out of Monday's day off, the Cubs plan to start left-hander Rich Hill, Zambrano and lefty Ted Lilly in next week's big three-game series against Milwaukee. Lefty Sean Marshall gets pushed back to Aug.31 or Sept. 1, meaning he has just one start (Friday at Arizona) during a 12- or 13-game stretch.

Piniella couldn't avoid having two lefties start against the Brewers, who hit 30 points better against lefties (.283) than righties (.253).

The talk in the Cubs' clubhouse was the Texas Rangers scoring 30 runs against the Baltimore Orioles, the most since 1897, when the Cubs (then the Colts) set the major-league record with 36 against Louisville.

''It's hard to score 30 in a week,'' Piniella said.

CUBS IN BRIEF