On the Hill...
Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Giants' 24-year old right-handed sophomore pitching sensation is (7-1) with a 2.23 ERA so far this season. Last year, Lincecum's rookie campaign, it took the former 1st Round Pick, (10th overall in '06) 19 starts before he recorded his seventh win, and he ended the year at (7-5) with a 4.00 ERA in 24 starts and 146.1 IP.
Already in '08, Lincecum has matched his win total from last season, and he's more than half way to the strikeout total of 150 K's with 78 in 12 starts and 76.2 innings pitched this year. Lincecum hasn't lost a start since April 29th, and in May, Lincecum was undefeated at (3-0, 2.97 ERA) in 5 starts, with the Giants 4-2 in the six starts since Lincecum last lost. Last time out, against the San Diego Padres, Lincecum went 7.0 IP, allowing 4 hits and 1 ER with 4 walks and 2 K's in a game the Giants won a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth.
Washington righty Jason Bergmann is (1-2) with a 4.50 ERA in '08, but the Nationals have lost 3 of his last 4 starts, though Bergmann only earned the "L" in his last appearance at Arizona, where he allowed 7 hits and 4 ER on 4 HR's in a 8.0 inning complete game for NJ's finest.
Bergmann, the Neptune, New Jersey native, brought a 19.2 inning scoreless innings pitched streak into the last start with the D-Backs, only to see it end in the bottom of the second inning of that game, but before that, Bergmann hadn't allowed a run in any of his three previous trips to the mound.
Nationals' #'s Against Tim Lincecum...
Willie Harris - 2 for 6, .333 AVG, 1 2B, 1 3B.
Uh...that's it for the current roster actually...
The "If they were playing" list...
Ronnie Belliard - 2 for 4, .500 AVG.
Johnny Estrada - 1 for 4, 1 RBI.
Check the NatCast if you're heading to Nationals Park...
The game gets underway at 7:35 pm EST. The Giants are here for four games this weekend, tonight and tomorrow evening, followed by a Sunday day game and the Monday night finale. The Nationals are now 14-17 at home after losing two of three to the Cardinals. The Giants have a 12-16 road record this year, and they're 6-3 in their last 9 away from AT&T Park through May. Time to play baseball...