Remembering Tim Lincecum and the Good Times: His Best Performances

#5: July 27th, 2009

Against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle of his second consecutive Cy Young season, Lincecum had quite possibly his best start of those two years. In his last of four complete games that year, and second of two nine-inning shutouts, Lincecum struck out 15 Pirates, falling just one strikeout shy of the Giants single-game record held by Christy Mathewson (1904) and Jason Schmidt (2003).

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Lincecum struck out two batters in each of the first five innings, then one each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. In the final frame, he added another two strikeouts, bringing his final total to 15, a number he had never reached in his career. He punched out five Pirates’ batters twice, and gave Andy LaRoche a hat trick, setting him down three times.

All in all, Lincecum went the distance, and allowed four hits and three walks. Two runs scored, but both were unearned, and Lincecum lowered his season ERA to 2.30.

In the heart of his most dominant period, this game was the epitome of his dominance.

Next: Hitless in San Diego