For the second start in a row, Tim Lincecum was dominating and left the game with the lead. For the second start in a row, the relief corps blew that lead. For the second start in a row, Tim gets a no decision.
Otherwise, there was not much in common with the two games. First of all, we won this one!! Mota just closed out the 12th for his first Giants save; 9-6 over the tough Florida Marlins. This truly terrific game featured clutch hits : Uribe's 2 RBI double, Rowand's tying HR with one out left, and Huff's game winner. The other guys had their share too: Hanley Ramirez's stunning 3 run homer off the previously untouchable Lincecum and an Uggla 3 run shot off Romo to deny Tim's victory. If you are a fan of the long ball (and most of us are), you loved this game.
Almost overshadowed by the offensive fireworks was the flashy job turned in by The Freak. Tim had everything working, as evidenced by an abnormally high number of first pitch curveballs. I counted at least five cases of very effective 76 - 80 mph curveballs for early strikes, most called. Tim finished with SEVEN INNINGS (that's 42.1 in six starts), THREE EARNED RUNS (that's a new high for this year), FIVE HITS (four singles and a homer by the incredible Ramirez), ONE WALK (8 for the year!) and a remarkable THIRTEEN STRIKEOUTS ( 56 for the year to date). His first five innings were as good as it gets. If not for one kinda mushy slider to Hanley, this would have gone down as one of Tim's finest.
STAT NOTE: Tim now has 22 career games with ten-or-more strikeouts, the most in the majors since 2007, Tim's debut year. In a distant second are Peavy and Santana with 15.
4 comments:
Great game, great win, huge team effort. I got home in time to see every OTHER Giants pitcher work besides Tim. Hanley Ramirez is a beast. Nice to see Rowand step up.
Like I said, great win, great game, huge team effort.
I'd rather have an ugly win than a pretty loss (sorry JSanchez's one hitter).
Yeah, the win in the thing. In the big scheme of things, the pitcher with the "W" next to his name is not important. The "W" in the standings is what matters. After all, Tim had a 3-run lead and gave it up--how often has that happened? Romo had a 2-run lead and lost it--blew the save, and nearly the game--but the Giants still won. They scored NINE runs! The hitters and the fielders "picked up" the pitchers this time.
The Timmy stat that boggles my mind is the ratio of strikeouts to walks, 56 to 8. That's exactly 7 to 1. Unreal.
Huff has emerged as a reliable offensive force. That's a huge development.
And right now the best hitter on the team is Schierholtz. He's batting .350 with an OPS of.943, both superior to Sandoval.
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