Tim Lincecum entered Thursday 0-2 with a 7.59 ERA in four starts this month, but one never would have guessed it from his showing against the Twins. He pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 12, before exiting a 1-0 game.
Lincecum started this season showing better velocity than he had either of the previous two years, but with his mechanics a bit out whack, he has lost something off his fastball over the last several weeks. That was a secondary issue, though; the bigger problem was his struggles with his command. He walked 12 in 15 innings over his previous three starts.
In this one, Lincecum walked two and threw 72 of his 109 pitches for strikes. He certainly wasn’t facing the best of lineups; the Twins’ four-best hitters (Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Jim Thome and Jason Kubel) were all absent, as was center fielder Denard Span. Still, with the way Lincecum was throwing today, there wasn’t a team in the league that would have fared a whole lot better. It was a very encouraging performance for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.
