San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum leaves the field after a pitching change against the Cincinnati Reds during the fourth inning at AT&T Park. (Photo: Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports)
SAN FRANCISCO - Tim Lincecum's no-hitter against the San Diego Padres on July 13 no only marked a milestone in a distinguished career, it rekindled hopes he might be able to recapture his past brilliance.
Conversely, his pratfall in an 11-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night not only dashed those hopes, but it might restart talk that the San Francisco Giants should look to trade him or at least move him to the bullpen.
The stumbling Giants don't have many viable options for starting pitchers, and they want to make every attempt at defending their World Series championship. Plus, Lincecum retains hero status in San Francisco, as confirmed by the small ovation he got upon getting pulled in the fourth inning.
BOX SCORE: Reds 11, Giants 0
Those elements make it unlikely he'll get traded like so much merchandise.
Still, Lincecum's first outing after his no-no - coming on eight days' rest - was sobering enough to warrant pondering the alternatives for his last two months before free agency, or at the very least stop toasting to his resurgence.
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Reds leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo doubled on the sixth pitch of the game, and Todd Frazier's three-run double to center five batters later dispelled any notions that Lincecum's old magic might be back.
Things only got worse from there, as Cincinnati pounded the 29-year-old right-hander for nine hits - three of them homers - and a season-high eight runs in 3 2/3 innings.
"The first inning took a toll on him,'' manager Bruce Bochy said. "He was so close to getting out of it. I'm sure that was deflating for him.''
Lincecum indeed was one out away from escaping unscathed out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in what wound up being a 31-pitch first inning.
But he served up a meaty fastball that Frazier was only too happy to blast over the head of center fielder Andres Torres - "He crushed it,'' Lincecum acknowledged - driving in the only runs Bronson Arroyo would need in tossing his sixth career shutout.
"We got on him early. Maybe that frazzled him a little bit,'' Frazier said. "I was sitting on that fastball hoping it was coming and it did.''
Lincecum (5-10, 4.73 ERA) didn't get much better after the first, as Devin Mesoraco, Choo and Jay Bruce tagged him for homers. It was the third time in his career Lincecum has thrown three gopher balls.
And whereas Lincecum got 29 swings-and-misses in striking out 13 Padres during his masterpiece, he managed only six against the Reds.
Some unusual factors may have played into his lack of sharpness, among them the career-high 148 pitches it took him to complete the no-hitter and the long layoff in between starts.
Lincecum said neither of those affected him, and he chose not to look at this start as a big setback.
"I have to go out there with confidence still. This is just a little bump,'' he said. "I just have to continue to use that game as a springboard. Not just that game, but the games prior to that.''
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