Tim Lineceum – Padre Killer

At the start of each series, we at Chicken Friars will zero in on an opposing player known to be a “Padre Killer.” No matter the day, time or place, this player is known to be a one-man wrecking crew when it comes to playing against the San Diego Padres.

In this column, I will analyze that player’s statistics against the Friars and try to offer some insight into how not to let that player beat our beloved team.

The Padres had an off-day Monday, which should have helped them recover from Sunday’s 6-0 shutout loss against their divisional foe Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now, the Padres will try to avoid being shutout for the second time in as many days. But a Freak stands in their way.

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum will take the hill tonight for the San Francisco Giants. The Giants ace has been anything but Lincecum-like this season as he is 2-6 with a 5.82 earned run average.

But down year or not, Lincecum always lives up to his Freak nickname when it comes to playing the team with the SD logo.

For the Padres there is no such thing as home-field advantage when the 28-year-old right-hander pitches at Petco Park, where he is 5-2 with a 1.77 ERA and a freakish 12 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Lincecum’s career- 1.84 ERA against the Friars is the second-lowest ERA versus the Padres of all active starting pitchers.

The best way to attack The Freak is by working the count to tire him out by letting his pitch count rise. There is no way to straight-out beat Lincecum, but there is a way to beat the Giants, and that’s to get to their Major League-worst bullpen.