Sep 24 2008
Tough Day for Cy Young Frontrunners Lincecum, Lee
Arizona’s Brandon Webb didn’t pitch Tuesday, but his Cy Young hopes improved as Giants Ace Tim Lincecum struggled against Colorado. Photo: AP
As the season winded down Tuesday two aces took the hill looking to build augment their Cy Young portfolios. The Giants Tim Lincecum and the Indians Cliff Lee both came into their starts leading their respective leagues in ERA, and both of them got roughed up. Lee allowed 5 earned runs on 9 hits but also struck out 8 in 7 innings. His struggles allowed Boston to clinch a playoff spot. Lincecum allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits and 5 walks. He also struck out 9 to become the single season record holder for the San Francisco Giants.
Lee’s spot as the American League frontrunner is still likely locked in as his closest competition, Daisuke Matsuzaka, has four less wins and a higher ERA and more walks. His numbers are still outstanding and should be enough to hold off single season saves record holder Francisco Rodriguez for the AL title.
Lincecum’s chances took a serious hit with yesterday’s outing as his ERA rose to 2.58. While he still has a greater win percentage and better peripheral stats than Arizona’s Brandon Webb, Webb has been hot and has won three starts in a row while Lincecum has had back to back losses, albeit a complete game loss in his previous start. Lincecum will need to come up big on Sunday, his final start of the season against Los Angeles. If Webb struggles than the award is definitely there for the taking. If he were to dominate however his higher coverage and win total may be too much for Tiny Tim to overcome.
Hey man, Lincecum actually gave up 6 earned runs cause the stupid official scorer ruled the error by Aurilia a single, but Giants protested that ruling so hopefully it will get changed and lower Lincecum’s E.R.A from 2.66 to 2.58. So yeah last night sucked!