Thearon W. Henderson of Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants had a bit of a scare this weekend when starting pitcher Tim Lincecum was hit in the knee by a hard grounder off the bat of Oakland Athletic’s first baseman Daric Barton. Lincecum collapsed after trying to field the ball and remained on the ground grieving in pain. He was helped off the field, but x-rays would later reveal no structural damage was done.
“Just a little sore, a bruise,” Lincecum said. “I’m able to walk on it and I’m moving around fine. I think the trainers are going to want me to take it slow and probably take it day by day to see how it progresses.”
The 29-year old right-hander spent Saturday night on the stationary bike to test his range of motion while the exhibition game between San Francisco and Oakland was rained out. Giant’s manager Bruce Bochy is optimistic that the injury will not prevent Lincecum from making his first scheduled start Thursday in Arizona.
“Right now I think we’re pretty comfortable that he’ll be OK to go,” Bochy said. “We’ll keep an eye on him, but he’s walking around pretty good. That’s good news.
The two-time Cy Young winner enters the season as the Giants number three starter behind Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain. This past October, Lincecum signed a two-year contract with San Francisco for a reported $35 million in order to avoid free-agency.
Leave a Reply