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SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecums days of dominance may be in the past. That doesnt mean he cant dial up flashes of the Freak he once was -- especially against the San Diego Padres. Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner Wednesday and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win. "Ive always been that guy who will kind of go for the strikeout," Lincecum said. "I think my first no-hitter I had 13, so I think I was going for those a little bit more often." "Today I tried to be a little bit more efficient and take what they were going to give me. They were giving me a lot of groundballs and a lot of pop flies, so I was just going to try to keep attacking the way that I was," he said. Lincecum totally shut down the weakest-hitting team in the majors, striking out six and walking one in a 113-pitch outing -- 35 fewer than he needed last July 13 against the Padres in his first no-hitter. Lincecum retired the final 23 batters after walking Chase Headley in the second inning, relying much more on his off-speed stuff than his fastball. Though the Padres hit a few balls hard, San Francisco fielders didnt need to make any exceptional plays to preserve Lincecums gem. The right-hander with two NL Cy Young Awards became just the second pitcher in major league history to twice no-hit the same team. Hall of Famer Addie Joss did it for Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox with a perfect game in 1908 and a no-hitter in 1910. "Its hard enough to do one," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "To do two, that puts you in a little different class. I couldnt be happier." Lincecum (6-5) threw the 16th no-hitter in Giants team history. Just one other pitcher has thrown two -- Christy Mathewson for the New York Giants more than 100 years ago. In fact, Lincecum joined Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers with two Cy Young awards and two no-hitters. "Just to be in that company allows me a chance to pat myself on the back a little bit," he said. Making the performance even sweeter was the fact that Lincecum even got two hits of his own, becoming the first pitcher with two hits in a no-hitter since Rick Wise hit two homers for Philadelphia against Cincinnati on June 23, 1971. "Regardless of what they did, I think its cool I got two hits anyway because up to today I only had one and a pretty poor batting average," Lincecum said. "I got that thing above .100 and I feel much better about it." But Lincecum will always be known for his pitching. He arrived as a shaggy-haired phenom nicknamed the Freak in 2007 for his ability to generate tremendous velocity from his slight frame. He won NL Cy Young awards in 2008 and 09 and helped lead the Giants to their first World Series title in San Francisco the following season. As age and wear and tear ate away at his velocity, Lincecum was forced to change what kind of pitcher he is. It hasnt been an easy transformation at times as he posted a losing record the past two seasons as his ERA hovered around 5.00. He was even relegated to the bullpen when the Giants won it all again in 2012 but was brought back with a $35 million, two-year deal last off-season for moments just like this. "I think its been a battle for him at times to make that transformation to what he is now," Bochy said. "Sometimes less is more, and thats what I think if anything, hopefully he learned today." Headley walked with one out in the second after falling behind 1-2 in the count. The Padres began the day worst in the majors in batting average, runs and hits. "He was good. It wasnt a fluke," Headley said. "His split and changeup or whatever you want to call it. If its not the best in baseball, then its one of the best pitches in baseball. Even with the diminished velocity, its still a tremendous pitch. He was able to throw it for strikes when he wanted too." This was the third no-hitter in the majors this year. Clayton Kershaw did it exactly a week ago and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Josh Beckett did it earlier in the season. The Padres, incidentally, are the only franchise in the big leagues that has never pitched a no-hitter. Lincecum made quick work of the San Diego hitters in the late innings. He drew a standing ovation when he batted in the eighth, then got another ovation when he took the mound to begin the ninth. "His rhythm was going," third baseman Pablo Sandoval said. "Thats the best hes pitched. Two no-hitters, thats pretty impressive." Lincecum struck out pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia to open the ninth. Pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal followed with a tapper back to Lincecum, who tossed to first for the out. Will Venable was up next, and Lincecum retired him on an easy grounder to second base. Lincecum took a few steps toward first when the ball was hit, stopped to watch the play and clapped his hand into his glove when it was over. Catcher Hector Sanchez soon met Lincecum for an embrace, and the rest of the Giants joined in the celebration. "It was amazing," Sanchez said. "Anybody wants to be part of something special like this. Thats a great feeling." Buster Posey got four hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Ian Kennedy (5-9) allowed four runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second when Brandon Crawford tripled and Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly. NOTES: Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (5-3, 4.13) is scheduled to start Thursdays series opener against Cincinnati. ... RHP Tyson Ross (6-7, 3.22) starts for the Padres against Arizona on Friday. ... The Padres are hosting a public memorial for Tony Gwynn on Thursday at 7:19 p.m. at Petco Park. Gwynn wore No. 19. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup. Wholesale NFL Store . On the day after Billy Horschel posted his 12th straight round in the 60s, won his second straight tournament against a world-class field and picked up an additional $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion, Watson was kicking back in his seat at a Kansas City Royals game. http://www.cheapnfljerseysbest.com/ . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Cheap NFL Shirts . "Hes over there," the first baseman said. "You dont need to talk to anybody else." Indeed, Peralta did it all as the majors top team won again. NFL China Factory . The team of Lars Nelson, Daniel Richardsson, Johan Olsson, and anchor Marcus Hellner cruised to victory in the 4x10 km event, winning in a time of one hour, 28 minutes, and 42.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Panthers finally made a decision on Greg Hardy: the Pro Bowl defensive end will not play anymore games for Carolina until his domestic violence case is resolved. The team removed Hardy from its active roster Wednesday, ending three weeks of indecision regarding his playing status. He played Week 1, sat out Week 2 and there was uncertainty about this week. So the Panthers placed Hardy on the exempt-commissioners permission list just hours after the Vikings took a similar disciplinary approach with Adrian Peterson. The Minnesota running back is addressing child abuse charges in Texas. Hardy was convicted July 15 of assault on a female and communicating threats after the victim said the 6-foot-4, 275-pound player threw her in the bathtub and onto a sofa covered with guns before threatening to kill her. Hardy is appealing the ruling and a jury trial is set for Nov. 17. He will continue to be paid his weekly salary of $770,588.23. Hardy also is allowed to be at the team facility, but will not practice. Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said it was a tough decision given the changing climate in the NFL. "Our overriding goal has always been to do the right thing," Gettleman said. The GM said he expects Hardy to be out at least through November. Hardy said he understands he needs to step away from football and take care of his legal problems. "I am entitled to due process and my day in court, and thats where my focus should be," Hardy said in a statement. "I appreciate the Panthers for giving me this opportunity and look forward to being back with my teammates. I am disappointed to leave my teammates and the Carolina Panthers during our season. My decision to take a leave of absence allows me to focus on my family until the legal process has run its course." Had Hardy not taken a the leave of absence with pay, he likely would have faced an unpaid suspension from the league. The NFL Players Association released a statement Wednesday saying, "Today, Greg Hardy made a decision to take a voluntary leave of absence to resolve his pending legal issue. The NFLPA and NFL worked with Greg, his representatives and the Carolina Panthers on this matter. We support this decision and hope the best for him and his family." Earlier Wednesday, with security around the stadium amped up, Hardy and his agent Drew Rosenhaus emerged from the teams facility, stepped into the players Bentley and drove away. Earlier, two police officers on motorcycles guarded the entrance to the teams practice facility. Panthers coach Ron Rivera was 20 minutes late arriving to Wednesdays ppractice and said that Hardy would not participate in workouts as he walked past reporters.dddddddddddd The coach later said he had a 90-minute conversation with the defensive end to make sure Hardy was in a good place. "Gregs hurt, he really is," Rivera said. "Its a tough situation and he knows he put himself in it. He was apologetic." Rivera said he expects Hardy to take a few days away and return to the team "in due time." "Hes still a part of this football team," Rivera said. Hardy, who was tagged as the teams franchise player this off-season and signed a one-year, $13.1 million deal, is Carolinas top pass rusher. He tied a franchise record with 15 sacks last season and has 26 in in his last 32 games. Rivera activated Hardy for the season opener against Tampa Bay, but then abruptly deactivated him before Sundays game against Detroit -- a move Gettleman supported. "At that time we felt it was at the right thing to do," Gettleman said. "Its constantly changing. There is no rule book for this. Theres no magic list we can hit checkboxes that bring us to the right answer." Rivera said he informed the team at a meeting Wednesday afternoon. Veteran safety Roman Harper said Wednesday during open locker room that every team has to battle adversity at some point, but said losing Hardy will hurt. Harper said unbeaten Panthers will miss Hardys pass rush skills and energy. "You take a player of his calibre off the field and it is going to affect us," Harper said. "But at the end of the day you cant use that as an excuses or a crutch. You have to fly around and make plays as a defence. We understand what we will be missing, but at the end of the day we still have a job to do." Tight end Greg Olsen said the Panthers are doing their best to focus on the Steelers. "You learn very fast in this league that there are going to be a lot of outside factors," Olsen said. "You have to do the best you can not to let those things impact your preparations and really focus on what you can control. The most successful teams just worry about the here and now and what they can control." Rivera said he believes the team handled the situation in the best way possible. "The biggest thing we have to do is get this right," Rivera said. "In all honesty were worried about the wrong types of things. Were trying to figure out who we need to blame. We dont need to blame people, we need to find answers and corrections and make things right... We have to come up with solutions to make sure this doesnt happen again." ' ' '