SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants reach the midpoint of their season on Sunday with high spirits, lofty expectations and a reason to feel supremely confident.
Eleven reasons, actually.

That’s how many shutouts their pitching staff has recorded after Saturday’s 9-0 victory over the Houston Astros. Tim Lincecum pulled another start out of Shangri-La, holding the Astros to three hits over seven innings, and the bullpen finished off the club’s fourth shutout in seven games.
The Giants lead the majors in shutouts by a wide margin. The Cincinnati Reds are next with seven.
Lincecum is their golden goose. He owns a streak of 23 scoreless innings — the longest by a Giant since Robb Nen strung together 252?3 innings without a run in 2000.
If the Giants maintain their pace, they’d become the first team since the 1998 Atlanta Braves to have as many as 22 shutouts in a season. They’d also break the San Francisco-era record of 20 shutouts, set by the 1968 club.
The NL West-rival Los Angeles Dodgers have the best record in baseball and the Giants still need a middle-of-the-order hitter to bolster an inconsistent but improving offense. Yet you understand why this is a confident group. They’ve played 80 games and their pitchers haven’t allowed a run in almost 14 percent of them.
“Like we said in spring training, this team is based around our pitching staff,” center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “We know what they’ll do on a daily basis. For us offensive guys, if we score two or three, we’ve got a good chance. It’s about trying to scratch and claw.”
After being outscored 22-0 in two games, the Astros are suffering from more than flesh wounds. Pablo Sandoval broke a scoreless tie with a single in the fifth inning and the Giants sacked their former ace, Russ Ortiz, in a six-run sixth. Rowand hit a two-run single and Randy Winn, who is heating up, lined a two-run double.
Sandoval bruised his knee and sustained a nasty friction burn while being thrown out at the plate in the fifth inning. He was replaced in the sixth and could need a day off, manager Bruce Bochy said.
Sandoval might not rest over the All-Star break, though. He’s among the Giants’ half-dozen strong candidates when All-Star rosters are revealed today. The Giants are sure to be represented by Matt Cain and Lincecum, who would be fully rested to make the start.
“It’d mean a lot,” Lincecum said. “If I do make the start, it’ll make up for the fact I didn’t even make it to the field last year.”
Lincecum (9-2) couldn’t enjoy his first-time selection last year. He ended up in a New York hospital with dehydration and flu symptoms.
Now he’s sick in a completely different way. Over his last 18 innings, he hasn’t allowed a runner past second base. His incredibly shrinking ERA is down to 2.23, just a few points behind Arizona’s Dan Haren for the league lead. And his nine strikeouts Saturday added to his major league leading total of 141.
“He’s one of the best,” Bochy said. “He’s throwing as well as I’ve seen him since he’s been here, and that’s saying a lot.”
Lincecum said he isn’t keeping track of the scoreless innings. But just in case, Gaylord Perry holds the San Francisco-era record with 40.
“It’s not like you have complete control over what happens,” said Lincecum, who tied Cain for the team lead in victories. “You don’t really notice (the streak). It just keeps going on. ... I’ve got my rhythm down, my walks are down. You keep feeding off those goose eggs, I guess.”