[新聞] Lincecum dazzles in 12-strikeout victory
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Lincecum dazzles in 12-strikeout victory
By Chris Haft / MLB.com | 6/23/2011 9:06 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- Any who questioned Tim Lincecum's skill may continue to
speak. Their doubts will break the silence of the Minnesota Twins' bats, but
they'll ultimately be drowned out by yet another sellout crowd at AT&T Park,
roaring in celebration of Lincecum's excellence.
Lincecum ended his June slump in electrifying fashion Thursday, striking out
12 and yielding three hits in seven shutout innings as the Giants edged the
Minnesota Twins, 2-1. San Francisco captured two of three games from
Minnesota, which entered the Interleague series as baseball's hottest club.
But after extending their winning streak to eight games in Tuesday's series
opener, the Twins ran afoul of the Giants' renowned pitching. After Ryan
Vogelsong neutralized them, Lincecum dazzled them.
Having posted an 0-2 record with a National League-worst 7.59 ERA in his
previous four starts this month, Lincecum showed the Twins how he won two Cy
Young Awards. Demonstrating his ability to retire any hitter in any fashion,
Lincecum erased the first five batters on ground balls. Then he assumed a
more familiar guise. He struck out 12 of the final 19 batters he confronted,
including nine of the last 12.
Striking out the side in the fourth and seventh innings helped Lincecum (6-6)
record his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season and the 30th of
his career. Though Lincecum maintained command of all of his deliveries,
catcher Chris Stewart noted that the right-hander's slider was particularly
devastating.
But the real source of Lincecum's performance was mental, not mechanical or
physical. Lincecum acknowledged that he recaptured the confidence that eluded
him in recent weeks.
"Not worrying about what's going to happen if I throw a pitch, I think that's
the biggest thing," he said. "I always wondered if throw a pitch, what's
going to happen if I leave it over the middle -- I wasn't thinking anything
like that. I always talk about having conviction in your pitches and
believing in them in that given moment. I think that's kind of what led up to
today's success."
Lincecum acknowledged that significant others helped him refresh his attitude
-- namely, his father and mentor, Chris, and former catcher Bengie Molina,
with whom he exchanged text messages.
"They were saying the same thing -- you have to believe in yourself,"
Lincecum said. "I know that sounds like a cliche, but you have to know that
you're the best and you're out there for a reason. You take that to heart,
you start to believe in yourself a little bit more and you start to carry
that out on the field."
Whether Lincecum derived an advantage from facing Minnesota for the first
time is debatable. Stewart thought it helped.
"It was one of those things where [the Twins] were on their heels and having
to make an adjustment," he said.
But Lincecum simplified matters for himself by refusing to consider this
factor.
"Today I just completely erased that from my mind," he said. "I went after
them as if they were San Diego or any other team we face regularly."
The Twins, who moved only two runners into scoring position against Lincecum,
played the entire series without regulars Justin Morneau, Denard Span and
Jason Kubel. The reverence that several Twins expressed for Lincecum
suggested that those absences were irrelevant.
"I think you see his ball disappear," said manager Ron Gardenhire, coining a
sensible oxymoron. "He has that great splitter or changeup or whatever it is
that just dives off the table."
"I need pitching lessons [from him] or something," said left-hander Brian
Duensing (4-7), who nearly matched Lincecum by yielding one run in 6 2/3
innings.
"He mixed up his pitches well and it comes from a little different angle,"
said shortstop Matt Tolbert, who struck out in both of his at-bats against
Lincecum. "The ball kind of jumps on you with a tight spin. So it's tough to
pick up."
Ranked last in the Majors in scoring entering the game, the Giants mustered
just enough offense to earn the decision for Lincecum. With one out in the
second inning, Pablo Sandoval singled, reached third base on Pat Burrell's
double and scored on Miguel Tejada's groundout. The Giants left the bases
loaded in the fifth and seventh innings before Aubrey Huff doubled and scored
on Cody Ross' single to pad the lead in the eighth against reliever Glen
Perkins.
That run proved vital when Brian Wilson walked Alexi Casilla and surrendered
Michael Cuddyer's RBI double to open the ninth. That ended Wilson's 15
1/3-inning scoreless streak that spanned 15 games. Wilson recovered to secure
his 21st save, with Sandoval creatively recording the final out after
fielding Luke Hughes' ground ball. Instead of simply throwing to first base,
Sandoval opted to run down Cuddyer -- a risky choice, though he made the tag.
"You take the last out any way you can get it," Giants manager Bruce Bochy
said.
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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