Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Freaks And Geeks
In a former life, Tim Lincecum was The Freak.
Now, he’s something closer to The Geek.
Lincecum defeated the Athletics 7-1 on Saturday to win his Angels debut, striking out two while allowing just four hits and one run over six innings of work.
The athletic gifts that propelled Lincecum to stardom and two Cy Young trophies are no longer apparent, but he got by Saturday with some veteran savvy and a fastball that barely reached 90 mph. Where once he leaned on his arm, it was his brain that helped him succeed this time around.
“He pitched backwards,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “He threw fastballs in breaking ball counts and breaking balls in fastball counts. We couldn’t solve him.”
Lincecum, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since June 27 of last year, said things fell into place after he knocked some of the rust off.
“It just kind of felt like riding a bike again,” Lincecum said. “After that first inning, everything kind of went away and I could just get back to work and making my pitches.”
The 32-year-old isn’t a good bet to blow hitters away and dominate like he did before hip injuries derailed his career, but he’s said he feels better than he has in years and could still be a useful starter, even as a shadow of his former self. His next test will be nearly identical to the first, as Lincecum and the A’s will meet up once again on Thursday.
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Grichuk Gets Sent Down
The Cardinals’ center fielder Saturday had used a recent trip to the minors to get his game back on track. They’re hoping the center fielder they demoted Saturday will benefit from a similar experience.
The team sent Randal Grichuk, the team’s starting center fielder on Opening Day and a player from whom big things were expected this year, to Triple-A Memphis on Saturday. The club recalled Tommy Pham to take Grichuk’s place on the roster.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Grichuk struggled to get on track from the outset of the season, highlighting an inflated strikeout total and a dearth of power — Grichuk is slugging .392 this season while striking out in 24 percent of his plate appearances — as reasons for his demotion. Manager Mike Matheny said the 24-year-old just needs time to work on some things.
“I just want to see Randal get it right,” Matheny said. “I’m still going to stand behind the fact that I believe this guy is a superstar player. I don’t say that about many young players. Just the skill set he has, what he has the potential to do. He could be a superstar. (But) he has some holes. And he’s going to need to fix them.”
The formula seemingly worked for one of Grichuk’s teammates, Kolten Wong, in recent weeks. Wong was demoted after struggling for much of the season, and he hit .429 with four home runs in seven games with Memphis to earn a promotion. Wong also learned a new position, center field, and made his first MLB start there Saturday.
Grichuk seemed to be on his way to stardom after batting .276/.329/.548 with 17 home runs in 103 games last season, but he failed to gain any traction this year and had found himself on the bench more frequently as time went on. Assuming he is able to get some things worked out at Triple-A, we should see him again before too long.
Machado, Ventura To Serve Suspensions
Suspensions levied in the wake of the Royals-Orioles dust-up earlier this month will be served beginning Sunday.
Manny Machado and Yordano Ventura both dropped their appeals and will begin serving their suspensions immediately. Machado will serve four games, while Ventura had his nine-game suspension reduced by one game to eight games. That means the 25-year-old will effectively miss one turn in the rotation.
The punishments were handed down after Machado charged Ventura, igniting a bench-clearing brawl, during a game on June 7. Machado took offense, as one is wont to do, after Ventura hit him with a 99 mph fastball.
National League Quick Hits: Dexter Fowler left Saturday’s game against the Pirates with right hamstring discomfort. Fowler grounded out in his one at-bat and apparently tweaked something on his way to first base. If it’s a strain, Fowler could be headed to the 15-day disabled list, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the outfielder was “just sore.” He’ll go for an MRI on Sunday … Starling Marte (face) was out of the Pirates’ starting lineup again Saturday, but he entered the game as a pinch-runner. Marte hasn’t started since taking a one-hipper off the face Wednesday, but his presence Saturday suggests he should be back soon … Wilmer Flores (hand) was back in the Mets’ starting lineup Saturday against the Braves. Flores was held out of Friday’s lineup due to a left hand contusion, but he did pinch-hit later in the game. He hit a home run, his third of the year, in his return to the field Saturday … Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-3 with his 16th home run of the season, and the Cubs edged the Pirates 4-3 on Saturday. His 16 homers are sixth-best in the National League, and he’s now got 50 RBI in 65 games this year … Zack Greinke delivered eight innings of one-run ball Saturday in the Diamondbacks’ 4-1 victory over the Phillies. The ace right-hander has been on a roll since late April and now boasts a 10-3 record, 3.54 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 85/19 K/BB ratio in 101 2/3 total innings for the year … Joe Panik hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to lead the Giants to a 6-4 win over the Rays on Saturday. With two outs and two on in a tie game, Panik ripped an Alex Colome pitch to right field for the game-winning blast … Pirates placed RHP Juan Nicasio on the restricted list. It’s a private family issue, per Pirates manager Clint Hurdle … J.T. Realmuto had a big afternoon Saturday, going 4-for-5 with a three-run home run to help the Marlins beat the Rockies 9-6. The four-hit day raised his overall line to a cool .305/.332/.422 through 60 games … Cody Reed, making his major league debut, struck out nine and allowed four runs over seven innings Saturday against the Astros. Reed, Baseball America’s No. 34 prospect coming into the season, took a few innings to settle in completely, but after that he was as advertised. Six of Reed’s nine punchouts were by way of the swinging strike.
American League Quick Hits: Blue Jays activated Troy Tulowitzki from the 15-day disabled list. Tulowitzki has been sidelined since May 28 due to a strained right quad. He went 0-for-4 in his return to the lineup … Melky Cabrera rolled his wrist on Saturday night. He’s being called day-to-day for now, but wrists can be tricky … Khris Davis left Saturday’s game against the Angels with some minor cramping in his calf. “I’ll be alright,” he told reporters after the 7-1 loss … Red Sox manager John Farrell announced Saturday that Clay Buchholz has rejoined the club’s starting rotation. Buchholz, who owned a 6.35 ERA over 10 starts before being banished to the bullpen, registered a 2.89 ERA over five relief appearances … Jackie Bradley Jr. hit his 12th home run of the season in Saturday’s 6-2 win over the Mariners. The 26-year-old is already in uncharted territory with more than half the season left to go, as he’s never hit 12 home runs in a single season at any point in his professional career … Tyler Naquin went 3-for-3 with a triple, a home run and four RBI as the Indians pounded the White Sox 13-2 on Saturday. The 25-year-old was on the wrong end of a roster crunch in mid-May that got him sent down, but he’s batting .320/.375/.553 in 41 games with the big club and should continue to get some run going forward in what has become a depleted outfield … Jonathan Schoop went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored Saturday in the Orioles’ 4-2 defeat of the Blue Jays. The second baseman has been a useful fantasy commodity all season, now with a .778 OPS, 11 home runs, 38 RBI, and 29 runs scored in 67 games Kendrys Morales led the Royals to a 16-5 victory over the Tigers on Saturday by going 4-for-5 with five RBI and four runs scored. The five RBI tied a career high.
