Lincecum gets in game, leaves with tight back

Banished to the bullpen and absent from the mound since the regular season, Tim Lincecum returned Wednesday night with the Giants trailing the Royals by five runs in the seventh inning. After retiring five straight batters during San Francisco's 7-2 loss in Game 2 of the World Series, Lincecum left in the middle of Salvador Perez's eighth-inning at-bat due to tightness in his lower left back. ''We're just going to treat it, see how it feels tomorrow,'' Lincecum said. ''But right now it feels pretty stiff.'' The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner went 2-0 as the Giants beat Texas in the 2010 Series for their first title since 1954.