Pitcher's duels are so great.
Picture this... youngster Tim Lincecum: verified strike-out machine and freak of nature vs. Pedro Martinez: future Hall of Famer in vintage form. That's exactly what the world got Thursday night.
Pedro tossed seven impressive innings, fanning a season-high nine batters in his fifth start since signing with the Philadelphia Phillies during the All-Star break. The old school righty surrendered one run and five hits, didn't walk a soul, and threw just 87 pitches in his longest outing since last August with the New York Mets.
He simply out-pitched Little Timmy in the Phillie's 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Lincecum stuck out eleven -- just another day at the office for this kid -- allowing two runs and four hits, marking the seventh time this season the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner gave up two earned runs or less and suffered a tough loss. That's thanks in part to the Giants scoring the second-fewest runs in the league, however. Yay teamwork!
It was pretty much over once Timmy nailed Chase Utley in the back with a fastball in the sixth inning. After that, Ryan Howard ripped a liner to right-center to put the Phils up 2-1.
Pedro gave credit where credit was due, too:
"He reminds me a little bit of me, but he’s twice as good as me at this time of my career," he said of Timmy. "It took me seven years to win a Cy Young."Right back atcha Pedro...
"It’s ridiculous how nasty his stuff still is," Lincecum said of Martinez.[MLB] | [Morning Juice] | [Every Joe] | [Small White Ball]
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