Pre-game notes & lineups: Tim Lincecum gets start on Orange Friday

The San Francisco Giants welcome the Colorado Rockies to town for a 3-game series this weekend at AT&T Park. First pitch is 7:15 pm PT. I don’t know if “welcome” is the right term. This is already the 4th series between the teams and it’s not even July. So the know each other well already. After this weekend though, the Giants won’t see purple again until late August.

Then again, not everybody has been acquainted this season. RHP Tim Lincecum (5-4, 4.37 ERA) gets his first start of the season against Colorado. I know, I was a little surprised too. I looked it up and everything. Somehow he’s missed the Rockies in 2014.

There’s the other side of it too. This is LHP Jorge De La Rosa‘s (6-5, 4.04 ERA) fourth start against the Giants this season. De La Rosa is no stranger to Orange Friday. Back on April 11 he was on the wrong side of “The Madison Bumgarner Show”. That was the day Bumgarner drove in 5 runs, including a Grand Slam off De La Rosa to put the Giants ahead for good.

The Giants and Rockies have each won 4 games against each other this season. They still have a suspended game to be resumed in September. That game on May 22 was the last time these two clubs faced off and it has been a tale of two teams. After the suspended game the Giants were 3 games up on the second place Rockies in the division.

Since then the Giants lead has increased to 11.5 games and the Rockies have fallen behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the standings. That’s 8.5 games in just over 3 weeks. It’s been a free fall. Colorado is coming off a 10-game home stand in which they were just 3-7. I guess it should be pointed out, they have won 2 straight.

The lineups for tonight’s Friday the 13th matchup.

Lincecum has managed to keep the Rockies big bats in check over the years. Troy Tulowitzki is 14-for-55 (.255) with 2 HR and 10 K’s against Lincecum. It’s not much different from Carlos Gonzalez and his 13-for-47 (.277) 2 HR and 10 K’s as well.

Angel Pagan has struggled since sitting down to rest his legs. In the last 3 games, all starts, Pagan has only 1 hit in 14 at bats. Something in his swing from the left side has looked a little off as Pagan has popped the ball to left field a lot and also grounded out a bunch. He only struck out 1 time the last 3 games. With left-handed De La Rosa on the mound tonight, maybe Pagan could use a break from the other side of the plate.

Brandon Crawford has the night off so it’s Ehire Adrianza. Please, contain your excitement.