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Tim Lincecum #55 leads the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Credit: Getty Images |
Baseball - San Francisco Giants ace pitcher Tim Lincecum, 26, is making the biggest start of his career Thursday evening at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Lincecum, considered one of baseball's best pitchers, is starting Game 5 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The underdog Giants lead the series 3-1, and a win (in the best of seven series) advances the team to baseball's World Series to face either the Texas Rangers or New York Yankees. (Tthe Rangers lead the Yankees 3-1).
Tim Lincecum, originally from Washington state and whose mother is Filipina, has a popular following among the Filipino-American community, especially in the Bay Area. He won the CY Young Award (as the National League's best pitcher) in his first two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 2008 and 2009 campaigns.
Having signed a two-year, $23 million deal with the Giants earlier this year, Lincecum ranks second to seven-time boxing champion and congressmanManny Pacquiao in terms of earnings among Filipino / Fil-Am athletes. Pacquiao earned close to $40 million in 2009, according to Forbes. [ Related: Fil-Am Tim Lincecum second to Pacquiao in earnings ]
Like Pacquiao, Lincecum's accomplishments are beginning to have historical significance.
Pitchers' Duel >
On Thursday, Lincecum faces Phillies ace Roy Halladay, 33, in a much-hyped matchup between two of the sports' best pitchers. In their first post-season meeting on Saturday, Lincecum triumphed over Halladay (and the favored Phillies) as the Giants won 4-3.
The 26-year old turned in an inspiring performance in Game 1 despite a hostile Philadelphia crowd that whistled at the long-haired pitcher throughout the course of the game. The gesture held an ugly homophobic undertone. Additionally, some Phillies fans held signs such as "Hippy Trash and "Fix Your Teeth." [ Photo ]
The veteran Roy Halladay will be no pushover. Earlier this month, the Phillies ace pitched baseball's first post-season no-hitter in 54 years, blanking out the Cincinatti Reds.
Prior to their Game 1 showdown, Lincecum and Halladay turned in two of the seven greatest pitching performances in major league postseason history, according to game score.
Cliff Corcoran observed on ESPN:
"None of the other five occurred in the same decade as another. Halladay and Lincecum threw theirs on back-to-back days, each doing so in their first and still only postseason appearances, and will now face one another in their subsequent starts. After his perfect game in the 1956 World Series, Don Larsen's next start came the following April.
After throwing just the second no-hitter in postseason history, Halladay will now have to face one of the just four men ever to record a postseason game score higher than that of his no-hitter. It's almost a given that neither pitcher will be able to repeat his Division Series performance, but this match-up deserves every bit of hype it has received. It is utterly unprecedented in baseball history."
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