SAN FRANCISCO — Tim Lincecum will make his first start today since the flu prevented him from attending last week's All-Star Game, and the Giants won't push their prized pitcher.

"We'll see how he feels," manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday. "Right now, he's good to go. We'll watch him during the course of the game. If he shows any signs of fatigue, we'll get him out of there."

Lincecum's health and workload in the second half of the season had been on the Giants' minds even before illness landed the 24-year-old in the hospital Tuesday.

Lincecum is on pace to pitch 200 innings for the first time as a pro and has thrown at least 100 pitches in 13 of his past 14 starts. He worked 177 innings last season with the Giants and Triple-A Fresno.

Bochy said the club will consider using off days to give Lincecum an extra day between starts. He also didn't rule out occasionally skipping Lincecum's turn in the rotation down the stretch if he appears to need a break.

"It'd be easy to just keep throwing him out there every fifth day because he's been so great, but we know at some point we're probably going to have to back him off," Bochy said. "This guy means so much to our future. We're not going to risk it. We'll keep an eye on him."

Deal coming?

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a deal that would send reliever Jack Taschner or second baseman Ray Durham to the

Short hops

Omar Vizquel, seeking to break out of his season-long slump, had sharp hits in his first two at-bats but left the game in the sixth inning after fouling a pitch off his left foot. Team officials said X-rays taken during the game were negative and Vizquel's status is considered day-to-day. ... Durham and Rich Aurilia were not in the lineup for the second time in two days because of the flu, although both were available to pinch hit. Aurilia batted in the eighth inning and struck out looking. ... Prince Fielder's "Splash Hit" in the seventh inning was the 17th by an opponent at AT&T Park.

— Laurence Miedema, MediaNews staff