The Walk Off: Tim Lincecum struggles in second start with Angels
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
The honeymoon period may already be over for Tim Lincecum and the Los Angeles Angels. After a strong first start with his new club, Lincecum struggled his second time around.
Lincecum lasted just three innings against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. The 32-year-old surrendered four runs on seven hits during the 5-4 loss. He walked two and struck out two in the outing.
After two quick outs to open the game, Lincecum put two men on in the first inning. He was able to get out the jam, striking out Khris Davis to end the frame.
The second inning, however, proved to be difficult. Lincecum gave up two straight singles to open the frame, and then allowed a three-run homer to shortstop Marcus Semien.
After getting a quick out, Lincecum put two more hitters on base. Another run came in to score on an error. That run would eventually be charged to Lincecum after he gave up another single to the next batter.
The third inning actually went fairly smooth. Despite a leadoff walk, Lincecum has able to retire the next three batters in order. By the time the third inning had ended, Lincecum had thrown 83 pitches. He was removed from the game at that point.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
Though the Angels would battle back in the ninth, scoring two runs, they couldn’t complete the comeback. Lincecum dropped to 1-1 with the loss.
TOP PERFORMERS
Freddy Galvis: Galvis was a one-man wrecking crew for the Philadelphia Phillies during Thursday’s 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Galvis provided plenty of power, hitting both a triple and a home run during the contest. He finished 2-for-3, with one run scored and five RBI.
Wei-Yin Chen: Chen may not have picked up the win for the Miami Marlins on Thursday, but he still tossed an impressive game against the Chicago Cubs. Chen held Chicago to just two runs over seven strong innings. He gave up five hits, walked three and struck out seven during the contest. Chen was matched by Cubs pitcher Jon Lester the entire way, preventing him from getting the win in the Marlins’ 4-2 victory.
Zack Greinke: By his normal standards, Greinke didn’t have a great start for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. He gave up three runs over 5 2/3 innings and notched four strikeouts in the team’s 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Greinke, however, was impressive at the plate and on the bases. He finished 1-for-2 at the plate, but also walked. Greinke came around to score both times he reached, and even managed to show off his wheels, stealing second. His all-around performance earns him the nod in our “Top Performers” section.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
With the Boston Red Sox on the verge of a four-game sweep, the team needed someone to step up in a big way Thursday against the Chicago White Sox. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts turned out to be that man.
With the game tied in the bottom of the 10th inning, Bogaerts delivered a walk-off single the scored Mookie Betts from second base. Bogaerts wasn’t Boston’s top performer during the contest, but he came up with the biggest hit of the night. He finished 2-for-6, with one huge RBI, during the 8-7 victory.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Giants 5, Pirates 3: Joe Panik’s third inning triple plated two runs, giving the Giants a lead they would never relinquish.
Tigers 5, Mariners 4: With the game tied in the bottom of the 10th, Steve Cishek threw a wild pitch to bring in the winning run for Detroit.
Braves 4, Mets 3: A.J. Pierzynski drove in two runs early while Adonis Garcia’s two-run homer in the eighth gave the Braves the victory.
Padres 7, Reds 4: Derek Norris smashed a three-run homer to give the Padres the lead in the sixth inning after the Reds took an early lead.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
