It’s not often a guy can give up six runs in three and a third innings and say that he improved over his last start, but Tim Lincecum can. Five days after giving up eight runs in three and a third innings to the Nationals, Lincecum went out today against the Pirates and gave up six runs in three and a third.
Not that this “improvement” is cause for celebration, for it simply means that Lincecum’s nightmare season shows no sign of stopping.
The Giants went on to lose, and Lincecum is now 3-10, making him the Giants’ first 10-game loser at the break since Barry Zito in 2007. His ERA is now up to 6.42 and his WHIP up to 1.58.
And now that he’s matched Zito in one way, it’s time to ask a question about him that has often been asked of Zito over the years: how much longer can the Giants just keep running him out there?