Tim Lincecum Throws Second Career No-Hitter
For the second time in his career Tim Lincecum has thrown a no-hitter. He joins Christy Mathewson as the second Giant to ever throw two-no hitters. His first no-hitter also came against the San Diego Padres.
Tim Lincecum also becomes the fourth active player to throw two no-hitters in his career alongside Homer Bailey, Mark Buehrle, and Justin Verlander. It is also the eighth no-hitter in San Francisco Giants history, dating back to 1958.
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Lincecum’s no-hitter, which came in a 4-0 victory over the Padres, couldn’t come at a better time for the San Francisco Giants or Timmy himself who both have been struggling as of late. In the month of June he has just a 1-2 record to go along with an ugly 6.85 ERA.
It’s been tough for him to learn how to become a finesse pitcher after being so dominant early in his career, but perhaps he has finally figured it out.
For the San Francisco Giants who are 3-7 in their last 10 games including five in a row at home, as well as 10-12 in the month of June, the win could be a jolt of energy the team seemed to be lacking as of late. Their giant lead (pun intended) in the N.L. West has withered significantly ever since the L.A. Dodgers finally figured out they have a pretty stacked roster. Even Bruce Bochy acknowledged this saying:
"“These things are hard to explain, how we’ve had our struggles here at home. After winning two in Arizona, you’d like to think you come home in front of your home crowd and get on a roll, and we got shut down. We needed this one.”"
Especially troubling were the bullpen’s woes which spanned from the starters to the closer Sergio Romo. The staff itself had a 5.05 ERA in the month of June — good for second-highest in the majors — and Romo who went back-to-back games with a blown shutout against the Rockies. After that he did not have an appearance for seven days.
They say timing is everything, hopefully this no-hitter gets them back on the right track to stayat the top of the N.L. West. We’ll see if the turnaround starts tomorrow with Ryan Voglesong set to take the mound against the Cincinnati Reds.