San Francisco @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 6, 2010 ) San Francisco 6, Milwaukee 1
San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum is headed to Anaheim next week for his third All-Star appearance. He hardly feels like one of the best pitchers in the National League at the moment, though.
And he certainly hasn’t been against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Lincecum takes the hill on Wednesday seeking to avoid losing three straight decisions for the first time in his career against one of the few NL teams he’s struggled against.
A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Lincecum (8-4, 3.28 ERA) was named to his third straight All-Star team on Sunday.
But he doesn’t feel deserving of the honor given his poor performance of late. Lincecum is a startling 0-2 with a 7.99 ERA in his past two outings.
On Friday, he allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings of a 6-3 loss to Colorado. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 13 batters that reached base tied the most Lincecum has ever allowed in a single start.
This is the second time Lincecum’s lost consecutive starts this season and fifth time in his outstanding young career.
And while Lincecum's grateful for the All-Star nod, he is finding it hard to be excited about it given how he's pitched the past two weeks.
“It is tough to accept things when you're going through mental struggles," Lincecum told the Giants' official website. "It's almost hard to take compliments and such. I'm the biggest critic of myself.”
He’s had plenty of reason to be critical of his performances against Milwaukee.
Lincecum is 1-2 with 5.67 ERA in five starts vs. the Brewers – his highest ERA against any NL team that he’s made at least five starts against.
Ryan Braun is 6-for-13 with a pair of homers and seven RBIs against Lincecum and Corey Hart, who had his 20-game hitting streak snapped Tuesday, is 4-for-15 with a home run against him.
Lincecum looks to shake off his struggles and help the Giants win three straight for the first time since a four-game run from June 11-14. Madison Bumgarner threw eight scoreless innings and Travis Ishikawa drove in a pair of runs in Tuesday’s 6-1 victory.
The Brewers, who have lost three straight, send Chris Narveson (7-5, 5.29) to the hill.
He is trying to bounce back from a loss to St. Louis on Friday, when the left-hander was reached for four runs and seven hits in five innings of a 5-0 defeat. He has never faced the Giants.
San Francisco, which is 3-3 on an 11-game road trip, has won four of its last five at Miller Park.