Tim Lincecum throws 2nd career no-hitter against San Diego Padres

Tim Lincecum threw his 2nd career no-hitter this afternoon at AT&T Park as the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 4-0. Lincecum struck out 6 batters and only allowed 1 walk this afternoon, needing 113 pitches to no-hit the Padres. The final out was a ground ball to newcomer Joe Panik who threw to first baseman Buster Posey to secure the no-hitter for Lincecum.

It’s Lincecum’s second career no-hitter. Both have come against the Padres and both within the last calendar year. In fact, 6 of the Padres 9 starters today were in the lineup for Linecum’s first no-hitter in San Diego last July 13.

This is the 16th no-hitter in Giants history, and Lincecum has now joined some exclusive company. Christy Matthewson is the only other pitcher in the history of the Giants to throw more than one no-hitter. Matthewson also threw 2 no-hitters, but he spaced them out throwing his first in 1901 and second in 1905. Of course, there was no San Diego Padres back then.

Back to the current no-hitter. Lincecum only struck out 6 hitters today, but seemed in control all afternoon. He used all of his pitches well and was able to keep the Padres off-balance. There were no real close calls during the game as weak contact was the norm off Lincecum today.

Tim Lincecum becomes the 32nd pitcher in the history of baseball to throw multiple no-hitters. Nolan Ryan still leads the way with his jaw-dropping 7 no-hitters all time.

This was the 4th no-hitter for the Giants since they moved into AT&T Park. Three of those four have come at the expense of San Diego. Also, 3 of the 4 have been at home, with Lincecum’s no-no last season coming on the road. The only no-hitter not against the Padres was when Matt Cain threw a perfect game against Houston in June 2012.

It was another electrifying moment in the career of Tim Lincecum. He now has 2 Cy Young awards, 2 World Series rings, and 2 no-hitters. Fans have often wondered why the Giants gave Lincecum $17 mil in the offseason, today was a prime example of why they did that.

Jun 25, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) celebrates with teammates after throwing a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park. The San Francisco Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Lincecum went 2-for-3 at the plate as well. He obviously out-hit the Padres by himself, and scored 2 of the Giants 4 runs.

The Giants got their first lead agaisnt the Padres in this series in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Brandon Crawford laced a 1-out triple over Will Venable‘s head in deep center field. It looked like Venable had a read on the ball, but it just kept carrying to that corner of the wall in deep left center field. Hector Sanchez followed with a sacrifice fly to center and the Giants had a 1-0 lead.

That was Crawford’s 8th triple already this season. He’s now tied for the MLB lead with Dee Gordon and Alex Rios. When Crawford puts a good swing on the ball he gets a lot of backspin and therefore, carry. We’ve seen many of his hits carry just that little bit more and the triples have been a result.

The Giants finally strung together some 2-out hits in the bottom of the third inning. Lincecum led off with an infield single, yes you read that right, and looked as if he’d be stranded on first base. On a 2 strike, 2 out pitch, Buster Posey singled in front of Carlos Quentin in left field to move Lincecum to 3rd and bring up Pablo Sandoval.

Once again Carlos Quentin in left was the target of the Giants bats. Sandoval hit a line drive towards the gap in left center field that just got past a diving Quentin to score Lincecum with the Giants 2nd run. Michael Morse was unable to keep the rally going as he struck out to end the threat.

The Giants tacked on 2 more in the 7th inning. Lincecum once again led off with a single. Hunter Pence blooped a 1-out single to set the stage for Buster Posey. He doubled off the wall to score Lincecum and Pence to make it a 4-0 game. On the day, first baseman Posey went 4-for-4 with 3 singles and a double, and drove home 2 runs.

But today was really all about Tim Lincecum as he continues to amaze Giants fans. He’s as loved as any player in any town, and I know Giants fans are once again thrilled for Lincecum. Here’s all 27 outs that led to what is probably going to be one heck of a party tonight.