There should be a convention for people who watched Tim Lincecum founder in August and declared his star on the wane. They could split into discussion groups to examine where they went wrong. Stills from Wednesday night's game would be shown on the overhead projector.
Lincecum struck out 12 in seven innings in a 2-0 victory that lifted the Giants to 5-4 on this trip, pretty good for a team that celebrated every run scored like the birth of a child.
Lincecum struck out 10 or more for the third time in seven 2011 starts and the 29th time in his career, breaking a tie with Christy Mathewson for the franchise record.
"It's cool, I guess," said Lincecum, who can be fairly certain he did not steal Mathewson's quote from the day he set the record. Lincecum had good reason to be blase about this record, because he is only 26.
"I've got a lot more pitching to do," he said. "Hopefully these will keep on coming."
Most impressive, Lincecum struck out his last five hitters and reached a dozen on his 127th pitch. He still was throwing 95 mph, too, showing how his fitness and weight gain now allow this slight fellow to last as long as the CC Sabathias of the game.
"I think he was better the last two innings than he was early on, command-wise," Pat Burrell said. "That's what an ace like him does. They find a way to get that extra gear. That's why he's special."
Burrell's RBI single against Chris Capuano in the sixth inning provided the only run Lincecum needed. That was a milestone itself, Burrell's first RBI since April 22 and his first with a hit since April 18.
An Aaron Rowand double and Mike Fontenot single produced the other run. Aubrey Huff singled, doubled and singled in his first three at-bats, a sign that his winning home run Tuesday night might have been a spark.
Lincecum had one more teammate to thank. Freddy Sanchez aided him with one of the Giants' best defensive plays in ages.
The score was 1-0 in the sixth when a Carlos Beltran double and Ike Davis single put runners on the corners with nobody out. Ronny Paulino then hit a high pop foul toward the seats well behind first base.
Sanchez zoomed a long way toward the ball. Despite the wall in front of him, big Nate Schierholtz bearing down from his left and a wind that was pushing the ball away from him, Sanchez made a sliding catch. Then, he popped up quickly, spun and, off his back foot, fired a strike home.
Beltran had tagged and was heading home, but once he saw the throw he hit the brakes. Lincecum then struck out Willie Harris and Jason Pridie to end the inning and the final Mets threat. Lincecum struck out the side in the seventh, and the bullpen took it from there, with Brian Wilson earning his 10th save.
Sanchez said he knew Schierholtz was charging toward the foul ball, "but at that point I didn't care where he was, even if he was right on top of me. I didn't hear him say anything, so I went all out to make the play. Timmy was throwing such a good game."
Sanchez confessed he had not seen video of Schierholtz's collision with Chinese catcher Yang Yang in the 2008 Summer Olympics. If he had, he might have turned toward the right fielder and said, "Here, pal, you take it."
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