The image is hard to shake.
Of San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum looking uncomfortable on the mound, his body slumped over and head shaking.
By any measure, Lincecum is off to one of the greatest starts of any career. He’s won back-to-back National League Cy Young Awards in his first full two seasons. He has started an All-Star Game,
He is “The Freak.” But against Rockies, it’s check please.
Colorado’s success against the diminutive right-hander continued in a 6-3 victory before a sellout crowd at Coors Field.
The fans were drawn by the fireworks. Their loudest cheers, however, were reserved for a percolating offense and Jonathan Herrera’s eighth-inning squeeze bunt.
That widened the Rockies’ bulge to three runs, making a winner of rookie Jhouyls Chacin (5-7) and clearing the way for a Huston Street save. By then Lincecum (8-4) was long gone, left to wonder why the Rockies have his number.
The right-hander is 43-16 with a 2.85 ERA against anyone but Colorado. Against the Rockies, he’s 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA,
Lincecum had a chance to escape a loss in the sixth after Aubrey Huff’s second home run tied the score. But after loading the bases on back-to-back walks to Brad Hawpe and Dexter Fowler, he ran into a tough out with Herrera.
The kid has commandeered the second base job with nifty glove work and a steady bat. He worked the count, before floating a sacrifice fly to left field for the go-ahead run.
Herrera added to his RBI total with a perfectly executed safety squeeze in the ninth, easily scoring Fowler.
Colorado erased an early two-run deficit created by Huff’s two-run home run. Clint Barmes continued his torrid stretch, belting a two-run home run. He has 27 hits in his last 84 at-bats with a team-high 17 RBIs since June 1.
Chacin settled down after the first inning. He worked six innings, allowing three runs on five hits. This might have been his last start with Jorge De La Rosa set to come back next week. But Chacin has proven he can help at the big league level.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
