Lincecum Dominates Game 1

The Giants took care of business in game 1 of the NLDS at AT&T Park Thursday night, as Tim Lincecum defeated Derek Lowe and the Atlanta Braves in a hold-your-breath type pitchers duel to give the Giants the 1-0 series lead.

The only run of the game came on a Cody Ross RBI single in which the Giants got a break because Buster Posey, the runner who scored on the play, should have been caught stealing second base moments prior to that hit. Still though, I think the Giants would have found a way to pull this one off. Lincecum was absolutely on, striking out a Giants' playoff record 14 batters in a complete game 2-hitter. Talk about a way to start a Postseason, and a way to make a statement.

Now, the Giants can't treat lightly in game 2. The will send Matt Cain to the hill, and there isn't a pitcher on the staff that's throwing better than Cain right now. Problem is, he's opposed by a guy in Tommy Hanson, who has been awful Cain-like himself in 2010 (3.33 era, 177 k's, 117 WHIP). As a matter of fact, if there were pitcher I'd compare Cain most to on that Atlanta staff, it would be the 6'6" Hanson, who brings much of the same repertoire to the table as Matt C. Either way, it's going to be another fun one, and although I would expect a few more runs to be scored tomorrow than what we saw tonight, but I wouldn't say much. I again have to go with the Giants Friday night though, as they're young players now have a playoff game under their belt, and some of the jitters out, and I think they'll really show up Friday night ready to play, already up 1-0 in a best of 5 series!

GBB NOTE: We'll do a bunch of these short post/updates after and during games (including multiple posts in a day like today), so as I've been mentioning in all recent posts, make sure your checking in at least once a day.