Tim Lincecum Tosses No-Hitter, 2nd In Majors This Season

After going the first three months of this season without a no-hitter, Major League Baseball has seen two within less than two weeks. First was Homer Bailey throwing the no hitter against the Giants on July 2nd, and now we have a Giants pitcher toss one, as Tim Lincecum no-hit the Padres Saturday in a 9-0 Giants win. Lincecum had seemed to struggle a little bit over the last year and a half, but this past Saturday night he was on his game. Lincecum (5-9) struck out 13. He walked four and hit a batter, all while throwing a career-high 148 pitches. The 13 strikeouts were the second-most by a Giant in pitching a no-hitter, after the 14 in Matt Cain's perfect game a year earlier. Lincecum tossed the 15th no-hitter in franchise history and seventh since the Giants moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season. Cain was perfect last June.

In throwing his no-hitter, Tim Lincecum absolutely baffled batters. The 29 swings and misses he induced tied for the most in a no-hitter since 2000. Here's the full list, thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau:

Tim Lincecum (Sat. vs. Padres) 29 misses
Randy Johnson (2004 vs. Braves) 29 misses
Felix Hernandez (2012 vs. Rays) 26 misses
Justin Verlander (2007 vs. Brewers) 22 misses.

Not only was this the first no-hitter thrown in Tim's career, but it was also the first one tossed at Petco Park in San Diego. Lincecum's 148 pitches were the second most thrown in a no-hitter since at least 1988, according to ESPN. Edwin Jackson needed 149 pitches for his no-no for Arizona in 2010.The Padres remain the only team left in the league that have never ever thrown a no-hitter. This was the 8th time in franchise history that the Padres have been no-hit, the last time being was July 10th, 2009 by Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants in an 8-0 San Francisco win. For the Giants this was the 7th no-hitter thrown in franchise history, and the first one since Matt Cain threw the perfect game last season.

Of interesting note, last year there were seven no-hitters thrown in the Majors, as compared to only two through the halfway point this season.  This time last year, baseball had five no-hitters thrown.

Now that we have hit the all-star break, the Giants sit at 43-51 and are in 4th place in the NL West, six and a half games back of division leading Arizona. The win brought Lincecum's record up to 5-9 with a 4.26 ERA and 125 strikeouts. These numbers are well below average for a guy like Lincecum, who has won two Cy Young Awards and two World Series rings to his credit. The guy is a much better pitcher than what he has shown over the last year and a half. One of two things will come out of him throwing this no-hitter. Either it is going to turn his season around, and the dominating Tim Lincecum will come back. Or he will still be in a funk and won't be the same the rest of his career. For the Giants to come back and make a serious run at the division title and getting into the playoffs, they need to get healthy and they need guys like Lincecum coming back to form on the hill.

Congratulations to Tim Lincecum on throwing the 2nd no-hitter in the big leagues this year.