Tim Lincecum earns first career save in 14 inning marathon
By Mike Marteny
San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has had quite a season. He no-hit the Padres (again) on June 25th. So what else is there to do? Save a game, of course!
He has given up just four runs in four starts since that no hitter. So what in the world was he doing in the bullpen?
Well, the Giants ran out of pitchers. They used eight in the first 13.1 innings of the game.
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Starter Yusmiero Petit gave up five runs in five innings, so he was lifted. Juan Gutierrez, Javier Lopez, Jean Machi, Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt, and Santiago Casilla went a combined six innings giving up only two hits. George Kontos entered the game in the 12th inning, and was cruising along until the bottom of the 14th. The Giants put up a four spot in the top of the inning, but Kontos had recorded only one out, and had runners on second and third.
The Giants were taking no chances. So the only place that they had left to go was to Sunday’s starter, Tim Lincecum.
Lincecum did allow a walk and an RBI groundout, but he still came up with his first career save.
It was a nice little bonus for fantasy owners, that’s for sure!
As if that wasn’t enough, Lincecum had to literally play dodge ball, when the umpire and his catcher Hector Sanchez threw balls back to the mound simultaneously.
Lincecum became the first pitcher to record a no-hitter and a save in the same season since Matt Garza in 2010.