For the second time in the span of less than a year, Tim Lincecum has pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. The first gem came on July 13th last summer, and took 148 pitches to complete. Linceum needed only 113 pitches today, and was a walk short of perfection while striking out six. Lincecum also helped himself at the plate with two hits and two runs scored. He is the first pitcher to no-hit the same team since Addie Joss accomplished the feat against the 1908 and 1910 White Sox.
Lincecum has struggled somewhat so far this season, pitching to a 4.90 ERA and 3.70 xFIP. However he looked like his vintage self today, dazzling a beleaguered Padres lineup that so far has hit under .220 for the season. More than half of his outs on balls in play were recorded via ground balls, and many of the San Diego hitters swung and missed to the point of looking silly. Surprisingly, Lincecum threw ball one more than strike one, but managed to work his way back into counts and induce weak contact.
Lincecum needed 35 fewer pitches than last year to blank a Padres lineup that has not changed much since last year. Part of that was done by striking out seven fewer batters and relying more on his defense, but also masterful control that allowed few hard-hit balls.
This is the third no-hitter thrown in the 2014 season, all by pitchers in the NL West. Josh Beckett of the Dodgers no-hit the Phillies on May 25th, and his teammate Clayton Kershaw did it to the Rockies a week ago on June 18th.
Lincecum’s no-hitter last year took place at Petco Park in San Diego, while today’s was in front of the home crowd in San Francisco.
For more on sports injuries, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter @StelliniTweets, and our department, @MLBFB. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
“You like baseball? Get involved! Check out LWOS Partners Bases Loaded EU for fantastic podcasts, news and a growing message board community of baseball fans like you!”
Main Photo:
Main Photo:
