Top dogs Lincecum, Lee will face off in Game 1
The Major League Baseball playoffs already have showcased one elite pitching duel this October. When the World Series begins Wednesday night in San Francisco fans will see another.
Recommended Stories
Giants ace Tim Lincecum already bested Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay, the presumptive National League Cy Young Award winner. On Wednesday, he faces Texas left-hander Cliff Lee, a dominant force in each of the last two postseasons, when San Francisco hosts the Rangers in Game 1.
Lee did it last fall for the Phillies, winning four playoff games and leading them to a National League pennant. That dominance has continued this October with a 3-0 record and 0.75 ERA in three starts. Overall in 2009 and 2010, he is 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in 64 1/3 postseason innings. Lee, the 2008 Cy Young winner in the American League, has walked one batter and struck out 34 this postseason. Including last year’s playoffs, he has 67 strikeouts and just seven walks in eight starts.
“Texas finally has the pitching to match their lineup,” Fox play-by-play broadcaster Joe Buck said.
Lincecum has won the last two NL Cy Young Awards. And while his 2010 regular season (16-10, 3.43 ERA) didn’t quite match his own lofty standards, the 26-year-old has posted three quality starts in the playoffs, including a brilliant 14-strikeout, complete-game shutout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 7. Giants manager Bruce Bochy also used his star pitcher in relief in Game 6 of the NLCS. He allowed two hits and struck out one batter.
Lee is 3-0 in his career against the Giants with a 1.13 ERA. That includes his debut for the Phillies last July 31 after a deadline deal with Cleveland. Lee pitched a complete game at AT&T Park that night with one earned run allowed and six strikeouts. Lincecum, meanwhile, has never pitched against Texas in his four-year career.
So the tone will be set in Game 1. The Rangers can use Lee to immediately grab home-field advantage. Lincecum can take advantage of an American League club forced to abandon the designated hitter and employ a weaker version of its lineup. Either way, this is expected to be one of the most even World Series in years.
“It’s the balanced pitching of the Giants against Lee and the offense [and] the team speed of the Rangers,” Fox analyst Tim McCarver said.
