A day after the New York Mets' bats came to life only to see them fail in the clutch to a heartbreaking loss in extra innings, the Amazin's will take on one of the game's finest pitchers tonight in San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum. It's certainly not a game that favors the Mets, especially with how erratic Chris Capuano has been on the mound this year.
Let's get one thing straight, though, there aren't many matchups that would be favorable when the two-time Cy Young winner is on the mound. Lincecum's stats are excellent despite his 2-3 record -- 2.90 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 45 strikeouts in 40 innings. In his five starts against the Mets in his career, he has a 1-1 record with a 3.71 ERA. David Wright is 2-for-16 against Lincecum, Carlos Beltran is 5-for-14 and Jose Reyes is 4-for-9.
For New York, Capuano has been extremely up and down this season. He's coming off a 5 2/3-outing against the Washington Nationals in which he gave up 10 hits and four earned runs, but prior to that, against the Houston Astros, he gave up one in seven innings. He's 2-2 on the season with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.
When there's a pitcher as potentially dominating as Lincecum on the mound, there's always a reason to tune in and watch the possibility of something special happening. There really is no more exciting guy to watch on the mound than "The Freak."