This Lincecum Fellow Is Quite Good

Published by on May 5, 2010 | 6 Responses

In honor of Tim’s 13 strikeout game against the Marlins on Tuesday, here’s a graph depicting every start in Lincecum’s career and how many strikeouts he had in that particular start.

For now, Lincecum’s career high for K’s in a game came against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009. In that game, Lincecum pitched 9 innings while striking out 15, walking 3, and allowing 0 runs. If you’re wondering where that 15K games places Lincecum on the all-time list for most strikeouts in a single game by a SF/NY Giant starter (data goes from 1920 onward), well then, BB-Ref has your answer.

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt IP H R ER BB SO
1 Jason Schmidt 2006-06-06 SFG FLA W 2-1 9.0 7 1 1 1 16
2 Tim Lincecum 2009-07-27 SFG PIT W 4-2 9.0 4 2 0 3 15
3 Gaylord Perry 1966-07-22 SFG PHI W 4-1 9.0 2 1 1 2 15
4 Carl Hubbell 1932-05-26 NYG BRO L 2-3 12.0 9 3 3 2 15
5 Atlee Hammaker 1983-09-11 SFG HOU W 3-2 7.2 7 2 2 1 14
6 John Montefusco 1975-08-27 SFG MON W 9-1 9.0 7 1 0 1 14
7 Gaylord Perry 1970-06-20 SFG SDP W 7-1 9.0 8 1 1 1 14
8 Gaylord Perry 1969-09-30 SFG SDP W 6-1 9.0 9 1 1 3 14
9 Juan Marichal 1965-08-04 SFG CIN W 4-3 10.0 12 3 3 3 14
10 Ron Herbel 1964-06-24 SFG CIN W 2-1 9.0 7 1 1 3 14
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/5/2010.

Gaylord Perry makes our list 3 separate times along with some other classic pitchers. If you’re a Giants fan, the names of Montefusco, Marichal, and Hubbell should perk your ears. The Schimdt game was compelling because of the way it ended. The Marlins, down by just 1 run, put two men on to start the 9th inning and Schmidt proceeds to throw a wild pitch that moves up both runners a base, now standing on 3B and 2B. Schmidt then struck out Miguel Cabrera, Josh Willingham, and Jeremy Hermida in order to end the game. It’s easy to forget sometimes just how dominate vintage Jason Schmidt was, but this game summed him up perfectly when he was pitching healthy.

If I was a betting man, I’d place a wager on Lincecum eventually breaking the 16 strikeout mark that Schmidt set in 2006.

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Chris Quick
Chris Quick

Chasman, Thanks for the great info. I'll re-edit the post and clarify that I'm talking about 1920 onward.

chasman
chasman

You won't see this on baseball-reference.com becasue it only goes back to 1920. Christy Marhewson also fanned 16 batters in october 1904. Here are the details: The same night the Giants honored Sue Burns, Tim Lincecum had a game for the ages. The “Freak” struck-out a career-high 15 batters against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was also a Major League high for 2009. The 15 Ks was just one short of the all-time franchise record of 16. That was set by Christy Mathewson on October 3, 1904 vs. St. Louis. Jason Schmidt tied that on June 6, 2006 vs. the Florida Marlins. Lincecum joins Gaylord Perry (July 22, 1966 vs. Philadelphia) as the only other pitcher to enjoy 15 strikeouts in the San Francisco-era.

chasman
chasman

The same night the Giants honored Sue Burns, Tim Lincecum had a game for the ages. The “Freak” struck-out a career-high 15 batters against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was also a Major League high for 2009. The 15 Ks was just one short of the all-time franchise record of 16. That was set by Christy Mathewson on October 3, 1904 vs. St. Louis. Jason Schmidt tied that on June 6, 2006 vs. the Florida Marlins. Baseball-reference.com only goes back to 1920.

hairball
hairball

oh, and GAA, once you account for the single non-start he had (4 ip, 4 k in '08), you get an average of 7.66 K/GS, which is actually a little higher than I would have thought based on the chart Chris posted.

hairball
hairball

That Schmidt game was such a gem. I swear I was on the same pins and needles as during Sanchez's no-hitter. I still can't believe what happens in beisbol sometimes.