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Lincecum whips Padres again in Giants’ 5-3 win

By WTOP Staff

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tim Lincecum doesn’t pitch like the two-time Cy Young award winner from five years ago. He’s just beginning to get similar results.

The right-hander struggled after winning the honor in 2008 and 2009, but a retooling of his game has begun to pay off and has the San Francisco Giants thinking about the Lincecum of old.

After throwing a no-hitter against San Diego 11 days ago, Lincecum took a shutout into the seventh inning Sunday to lead the Giants to a 5-3 win over the Padres.

Lincecum (8-5) extended his scoreless streak to 23 1-3 innings before Brooks Conrad hit a solo homer in the seventh to knock him out of the game.

The streak started with his second career no-hitter against San Diego on June 25. Lincecum followed that with eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over St. Louis on Tuesday.

Although this is not the overpowering Lincecum who won the Cy Young in consecutive years, the results are impressive.

“I’m not going to overpower teams with my stuff,” Lincecum said. “I’m just going to have to mix my pitches and locations. I’m doing a good job of that. I’m not missing in big spots with pitches.”

He allowed one run on three hits, walked four and struck out six. Lincecum has won all three starts this season against San Diego and improved his mark against the Padres to 16-6 in 29 career starts.

Lincecum threw his first no-hitter at San Diego on July 13, 2013.

“Timmy’s just been on a good roll,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “How poised he’s been, how easy his delivery has been.”

The Giants have been down this road before with Lincecum since he began struggling after his last Cy Young season and lacked the consistency that had marked the early part of his career.

Bochy thinks this recent stretch may last.

“He’s reinvented himself,” Bochy said. “I think he has a better idea of what he wants to do as far as pitching. He’s become more of a pitcher. It was pure stuff early on in his career. He’s gotten more cerebral with the pitching side of it.”

Lincecum also believes he may be able to sustain his most recent success as compared to other stretches when it didn’t last.

“It’s just a feeling I have right now,” he said. “I look for consistency and this is about as consistent as I have been in the last few years. Hopefully, this is the start of something good.”

The Giants, who had dropped 18 of 22 games after they lost the opener Friday, won two straight to win only their second series in nearly a month.

Brandon Belt drove in two runs for San Francisco and Hunter Pence had three hits, extending his season-best hitting streak to 11 games, and scored three runs.

Rookie Joe Panik and Michael Morse each had an RBI.

Three relievers combined with Lincecum on a four-hitter. Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his third save in six chances.

The Padres did not get their first hit off Lincecum until there were two outs in the fourth.

Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer, his seventh, off former closer Sergio Romo in the eighth inning to cut the Giants’ lead to 5-3.

Rookie Jessie Hahn (4-2) lost his four-start winning streak, allowing three runs on five hits over seven innings in his sixth major league start. The left-hander struck out five and walked two.

“In the early innings, they were sitting on my curveball, so I had to make some adjustments,” Hahn said.

Hahn retired 11 straight batters after he allowed Morse’s RBI single to fall behind 3-0 in the third.

“The second half of his outing was outstanding,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “I was really impressed with how Jesse hung in there.”

Belt singled in a run in the first and had a sacrifice fly in San Francisco’s two-run eighth.

NOTES: Lincecum’s career best for scoreless innings is 29 in 2009. … Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval, who left Saturday night’s game with a left elbow bruise after he was hit while swinging at a pitch, did not play. … The Giants’ 5-3 win Saturday night in 10 innings was just the club’s third victory since moving to San Francisco in 1958 in which the team won a game with a game-tying homer in the ninth inning and a game-winning home run in the 10th, according to information provided to the Giants by the Elias Sports Bureau. … Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (5-5, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to face A’s RHP Jesse Chavez (6-5, 3.23) in the opener of a three-game series at Oakland on Monday. … The Padres travel to Colorado with RHP Ian Kennedy (6-9, 3.87) going against Rockies LHP Tyler Matzek (1-2, 4.25) in the opener of a three-game set.

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Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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