Giants' Lincecum looks as if he's figured it out
Tim Lincecum is in a good place these days.
With the playoffs apparently around the corner, Lincecum is doing his best pitching of the year when it counts the most. He threw shutout ball for six-plus innings in the San Francisco Giants' 6-3 win over the Rockies on Tuesday, and his stats are looking more Lincecum-like with every start.
He has had an ERA topping 5.00 all season. Until Tuesday. Now it's 4.91. Still too high. But it's just 3.06 in the second half compared to the ugly 6.42 in the first half.
In the first half, quality starts (six-plus innings, three or fewer runs) were a rarity, and now they're commonplace. Seven times in the last 10 games, Lincecum has had quality starts.
"He's good in the windup and the stretch. He's very comfortable out there and has good tempo," said manager Bruce Bochy, whose club's magic number for clinching the NL West dropped to seven. "He's been throwing the ball well. He's the Timmy that we know. We're going to need him down the stretch here, throwing the ball like that.
"Timmy's tough when he's on his game, and he's on it right now. It's good for all of us to see him throw the ball like this."
Lincecum has 10 wins, the fifth straight year he has won in double figures. He's the seventh pitcher since the club moved to San Francisco to win 10-plus games in five straight years.
That's a good place to be in.
