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Lincecum/Giants Shine Through Rain

Today's going to be a little unique here at the Giants Baseball Blog. Since the Giants have been on a roll, I wanted to definitely get a post out discussing what's been going on with them this weekend. However, since the draft takes place tomorrow, this is my last chance to get my final take in on that, so I will post a mini-mock draft post in addition to this one, so be sure to scroll down and check that out.

The Giants took the third game of the Giants/Marlins 4-game set on Sunday, waiting out an hour long rain-delay and getting a gutsy outing from "The Franchise". Tim Lincecum went 7 1/3 innings on Sunday, allowing two runs in the eighth inning on a rare mistake to Chris Coghlan hit out of the yard. Lincecum didn't necessarily have his best stuff on Sunday, as he walked 4 and only struck out 4, but he figured out a way to get out of trouble when he had to and really was cruising until Coghlan ran into that hanging breaking ball. Timmy's recent outing finally got his era where it belongs, back below 3, for the first time since late-April. Along with his 2.95 era and 5-1 record, Lincecum is still the NL's leader in strikeouts with 95 (in 79 innings) and is certainly on pace to make another mid-summer classic appearance, let's just hope he takes it easy on the bar scene this time around.

Lincecum isn't the only Giants starter lining up to make the NL All-Star team. Matt Cain's recent, rain-shortened complete game victory netted him his 7th win of the season, and we're not even in mid-June yet. Remember, Cain's won a total of 15 ballgames the last two seasons (mostly due to lack of support), so it's good to see the tide really turing for him. Cain's not just counting on support though, he's leading the Giants staff with a 2.27 era and his 7 victories tie for first in the National League. The Giants' dual-aces look like they're starting to really come into their own, and those two are the ones really carrying this ballclub.

While on the topic of players key to the Giants success, it looks like one of them may be getting his stroke back. Bengie Molina, who's been the Giants most steady run-producer for a few years now, really hit a rough stretch over the last 3 weeks. He saw his average dip from .316 to .245 in May, but he's got 6 hits in his last 4 games and is starting to put together much better at-bats. Unfortunately, Edgar Renteria hasn't found that same luck. He's another guy, along with Molina, who was really swinging a clutch bat for the Giants early on in the season, but since he's come back from his missing a week in May, he's struggled to get his swing going. Renteria. The Giants shortstop has only has one multi-hit game since May 22nd, and his bat has looked slow and puchless (only two extra base hits over that time period). These two veterans are very key to the Giants offensive success. Luckily Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn and Pablo Sandoval are doing their part and carrying the load. If they can get all these guys going together, they may just generate enough runs to keep floating above .500.

**** Scroll down for The Giants Baseball Blog's Pre-Draft, Giants Mini-Mock Draft.****

Comments

true giants diehard said…
Bengie's a good Giant. But I think his trade value is at an all time high. I can totally see him tanking in the second half. I'd trade him to the mets or Brewers or some team that wants a catcher, for some other teams Tim Alderson or something like that. If that's possible.
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