Tim Lincecum: Giants At Dodgers

Madison Bumgarner's lights out performance against the arch-rival Dodgers will undoubtedly be a tough act to follow for the Freak, but the club and fans are noticeably (and should be) more optimistic of the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, as he's been vintage Timmy since starting the second half.  So, expect him to buckle down in Game Two of this pivotal series with L.A.

Tim Lincecum has been overall pretty good since coming back from the All-Star break.  In his last seven starts, he's gone 3-3 turning in five quality starts, allowing only sixteen earned runs in 43.2 innings.  His most recent outing was the worst of the bunch, and it wasn't even that bad.  Here's the line:

IP.   H  ER  BB  K  HR
4.0  8    4     1    5    1

Sure, he raised his ERA from 5.35 to 5.45 and allowed a two-run shot Ala Danny Espinosa, but it was against the hottest team in baseball, the Washington Nationals, who are a Major League best 76-46.

Lincecum does, however, have more than descent numbers against L.A (6-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 109 K's through 106.2 innings).  On June 27th, he tossed seven masterful innings to shutout the Dodgers while accumulating eight punch-outs.  Opposing pitcher Joe Blanton is 2-4 with a 4.75 ERA in his nine career starts against San Francisco, and is a disappointing 0-2 with a bloated 8.22 ERA in three starts since coming over from Philadelphia.

Worth Noting:

Apparently, skipper Bruce Bochy plans on resting a surging Buster Posey, or possibly using him at 1st base.  Either way, having his bat in the lineup is key, and if Brandon Belt must sit to make room for the NL MVP candidate, I'm okay with it.  We can always bring him in off the bench.

Let's Go Giants.

Posted in: buster posey,cy young,Danny Espinosa,joe blanton,Los Angeles Dodgers,Madison Bumgarner,National League West,San Francisco Giants,Tim Lincecum,Washington Nationals