Tim Lincecum Dominates Braves, Proves Again Why He Is Cy Young Worthy

In case you didn't think Tim Lincecum was among the top candidates for the Cy Young award, his performance against the Atlanta Braves had to make an impression.

Just days after getting beaned by a line drive against the Houston Astros, The Franchise stepped back on the hill and dominated the Braves.

What is more impressive is that he had no type of rhythm in the windup.

So what did he do? Went exclusively from the strecth starting in the sixth inning, even though he had only allowed one hit so far.

It seemed to pay off. After allowing a double to Yunel Escobar to start the inning, he retired the next eight batters.

"I didn't have a rhythm. I had to make an adjustment. I was more comfortable going to the stretch. It helped me out," said Lincecum.

However, the move did confuse catcher Bengie Molina.

"He said, 'Wait, no one's on base.' I said, 'No, that's fine. I'm doing it on purpose,' " Lincecum said. "It was pretty funny."

The best part of the day was that when Lincecum was pulled after 7 2/3, the Giants bullpen didn't blow it. That's right. A little odd considering they had blown almost every gem he had pitched the last month.

After Jack Taschner gave up an RBI single to Mark Kotsay, he got yanked and was replaced by all-star closer Brian Wilson.

And with Wilson in, it was automatic, no matter how interesting it got. After throwing a wild pitch and issuing an intentionally walk Casey Kotchman to load the bases, Jeff Francoeur grounded out to end the inning. The ninth inning was a breeze and Wilson recorded his 33rd save in 35 chances.

The Giants offense was fueled by the youngsters, mainly first baseman Travis Ishikawa, who hit a two-run home run, his first career shot, in the second inning. Second baseman Emmanuel Burriss added an RBI single in the fifth.

It was all Lincecum needed on his way to striking out 10 and only allowing three hits.

Here's a nice stat of the day: The Giants are now 17-0 when they score at least three runs when Lincecum pitches.