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Less Than Adbert-ized
The first two home starts were no-hitters into the 6th. The third began similarly. First inning: 10 pitches, nine strikes, three up/three down. After that, Adbert Alzolay labored. A pair of two-run homers in the second, a solo shot in the fifth. None of the three was windblown. That initial frame was efficient and economical but the other three+ required 80 pitches. Let's put a positive spin on the outing and call it a learning experience. It certainly wasn't a confidence-boosting springboard to the major league debut that's reportedly in the offing next Saturday.
Just after AA left the game in the top of the 5th, Tim Lincecum entred it in the bottom half of that inning. I know it was him because I saw him up close after he joined his mates in the RR bullpen in the 3rd. And when he stripped off his warmup hoodie to get loose the number on his jersey, 15, matched the one assigned to him on the Express roster. The all-in, all-out windup and delivery were also familiar. Other than that...
The first man he faced hit a 90 mph fastball to the wall in dead center. The next one doubled off the wall in right. The Freak entered with the cushion of a 5-1 lead, but quickly it became 5-2 and he was painted into the corner of a bases loaded, two-out pickle. BOOM...back, back, back...a towering potential game-changing slam also died at the wall in deepest, darkest CF.
Two pitchers; one ascending, the other reduced to hanger-on. Both struggled as they passed one another in the baseball night.
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