Tim Lincecum Injury: Updates on Giants Pitcher's Status and Return

Updates from Friday, Oct. 24

ESPN.com's Jim Caple has an update on Tim Lincecum's status:

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"Sitting on the plane was a little iffy but I just did my best to stay stretched out and keep loose," Lincecum said. "And now I'm just going to get it treated and see how it feels."

Lincecum underwent an MRI on Thursday afternoon, and the results showed no structural damage. He is expected to be available when the World Series resumes with Game 3 on Friday night.

"That's the plan," athletic trainer Dave Groeschner told The Associated Press via text message late Thursday.

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Updates from Thursday, Oct. 23

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the next step for Tim Lincecum after last night's injury:

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Tim Lincecum, the Giants' iconic starter-turned-reliever who came out of Game 2 after feeling sudden tightness, will be getting an MRI Thursday on his lower back/left side region, according to sources connected to the team.

No one with the Giants has said yet whether Lincecum will remain active, but the MRI could tell the tale.

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Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area provides comments from Lincecum:

Alex Pavlovic of the Bay Area News Group provides an update on Lincecum's progress:

Original Text

Tim Lincecum's 2014 postseason may be over almost immediately after it began.

The San Francisco Giants pitcher exited Game 2 of the World Series with an injury. Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News reports on what was ailing Lincecum:

Lincecum made it 1.2 innings before the trainers were called with two outs in the bottom of the eighth:

Manager Bruce Bochy commented on the injury, via Pavlovic, after the Royals' 7-2 win, which evened the series at 1-1:

Since his All-Star season in 2011, Lincecum's steadily dropped off. He posted a 12-9 record and a 4.74 ERA in 155.2 innings with the Giants in 2014.

Despite San Francisco going all the way to the Fall Classic, the two-time Cy Young Award winner hadn't appeared in the 2014 playoffs before Wednesday. Fox Sports 1's C.J. Nitkowski wondered if his prolonged layoff potentially had a role in causing his injury:

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22 days since Lincecum last pitched. Non arm injury plausible.

— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski) October 23, 2014"

Baseball writer Wendy Thurm postulated that Lincecum might have been hurt this whole time:

It's hard to say how much losing Lincecum would hurt the Giants since they got this far without his pitching at all.

However, every reliever is a precious commodity in the playoffs, so it's likely that his absence could prove pivotal as some stage.