San Francisco Giants Mailbag: McGehee, Maxwell, Lincecum
Apr 18, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) waves to the crowd during the 2014 World Championship Ring Ceremony before the start of the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
@MaggiePilloton is @timlincecum finally back and for real? Not Cy Young but top 3 starter at least? #GiantsMailbag
— Bryce Villa (@bvillaD2wrestle) April 27, 2015
So far in 2015, Lincecum has started four games and has posted a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings. He’s struck out 16, walked 10, and allowed 23 hits.
In his first three starts, Lincecum showed the ability to get out of jams, and he had pretty good command of his pitches, even though his velocity has dipped to the mid- to high-80’s range on his fastball at times. These are two things that he has struggled with in the last few seasons, so this was a good sign so far.
Lincecum had a rough start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday when he gave up four earned runs and eight hits, and he walked three in just four innings. The Dodgers have a potent offense, especially at home, so this could partially explain the poor outing.
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His start on Monday proved that it’s too early to say that he’s officially “back” and that he’s a top-three starter for the Giants.
Giants fans have heard by now that Lincecum reunited with his father during the offseason, and his father worked with him on his mechanics. With these improvements, Lincecum was impressing his teammates in Spring Training, because the deceptive quality that his pitches used to have looked like it had returned in full force.
It seems as if the help of his father has helped Lincecum fine-tune his mechanics. If his start on Monday against the Dodgers was just an outlier and if Lincecum can pitch the way he did in the first three starts through the All-Star break, then it might be fair to say that Lincecum is “back.” It’s more realistic to make that kind of determination at the end of the season though.
Consistency has been the area where Lincecum has struggled the most in the past few seasons, so he still has a lot to prove beyond just four starts..