Jimenez vs. Lincecum, Round 2
| August 28, 2009 | 10:53 AM
More journal entries from Steve Foster »
Any time Colorado Rockies fans see Tim Lincecum’s name in the lineup, they should — and do — grimace. He’s that kind of pitcher, the one you pray pitches the game before you start a series with the San Francisco Giants.
Curiously, though, the Rockies haven’t been completely dominated by Lincecum in his career. Lincecum is 3-3 with a 4.39 ERA, by far his worst numbers against any National League West opponent. Matt Cain, meanwhile, has been far better against the Rockies, going 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA.
Whether by design or by luck, the Colorado Rockies stumbled onto a strategy to beat the Giants ace in the their 4-2 win last Sunday. The strategy is pretty simple: put your best starter up against him, take as many pitches as can, hope for some walks, run up the pitch count to try to get into the bullpen in the seventh or eighth inning and cross your fingers.
Lincecum no-hit the Rockies for 5 1/3 innings Sunday, but he didn’t have his best stuff. He pitched in the low 90s rather than the mid 90s and was so uncomfortable, he threw from the stretch instead of the windup most of the game. He walked five batters, which steadily ran up his pitch count to more than 100 pitches at the start of the seventh inning. Lincecum would have been done after the inning anyway, but the Rockies had worked him so hard to that point that Seth Smith was able to crack a two-run home run before the Giants realized Lincecum was toast.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but It’s possible Linecum is wearing down. His previous start against the Cincinnati Reds was one of his worst of the season — five runs in six innings. Lincecum has thrown a lot of pitches and a lot of innings in nearly three full seasons with the Giants. Of course, it’s entirely possible he really is a freak of nature. He had starts similar to his past two in late August last season, but consider this: The Rockies faced Lincecum on August 27 last season and he had a 2.43 ERA. The Rockies will face Lincecum Friday (August 28) and he has a 2.43 ERA. The consistency stat can play two ways, though. Like this season, the Rockies faced Lincecum in back-to-back starts last season. In their next matchup on Sept. 2 last season, the Rockies hammered him for five runs in five innings.
The real key to the Rockies beating Linecum on Sunday, however, was the guy they had the mound. Without Ubaldo Jimenez’s ascension to stopper in the rotation, the Rockies might not have been in the game to take advantage of Lincecum’s slip. Jimenez was touched for a two-run home in the second inning, but was nearly untouchable after that.
Jimenez has faced the Giants three times this season and is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA. In his career against the Giants, Jimenez is 3-2 with a 2.41 ERA, by far his best numbers against a National League West opponent. So while Lincecum will be the guy featured on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight one way or another, Giants fans should be just as nervous about their prospects in this rematch Friday.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
colorado rockies, matt cain, san francisco giants, tim lincecum, ubaldo jimenez
