It's going to be an awfully late night tonight, but this should be fun.
The Brewers get a chance tonight to face Tim Lincecum (5.74 ERA, 3.23 FIP), who is having a rough start to the 2012 season. He's already walked 13 batters this season (4.4 per nine innings of work), and has been roughed up a couple of times. he was much better against the Padres on Saturday, though, allowing an unearned run on three hits over eight innings. He threw 121 pitches in that game, but has had an extra day of rest since then.
Plate discipline is a key against Lincecum, as just 41.2% of the pitches he's thrown this season have been in the strike zone. His velocity is significantly down in 2012: He's been averaging roughly 92 mph on his fastball for the last three seasons, but is working right around 90 this season. His changeup has historically been his best pitch, but the slider is his best pitch in a relatively small sample size in 2012.
Lincecum has faced the Brewers eight times in his career, including once last season. He allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings in his only outing against the Brewers in 2011. Five Brewers have faced him ten times or more:
| Player | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Corey Hart | 24 | .292 | .292 | .417 | .708 |
| Ryan Braun | 23 | .333 | .391 | .667 | 1.058 |
| Rickie Weeks | 22 | .278 | .409 | .667 | 1.076 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 18 | .222 | .222 | .222 | .444 |
| Alex Gonzalez | 16 | .250 | .250 | .500 | .750 |
He'll face Zack Greinke (3.94 ERA, 2.29 FIP), who is making his sixth start. Greinke pitched six innings against the Cardinals on Sunday and allowed a run on seven hits, walking four and striking out two. He only threw 99 pitches in the outing.
Through five outings this season Greinke is averaging just less than six innings per appearance, and that number is weighed down by a single disaster start. All told, he's thrown six or more innings and allowed two runs or less in four of his five games.
Tonight's game will be the first time Greinke has ever faced the Giants. Melky Cabrera is the only current Giant who's faced him ten times or more: He's 2-for-11 with a walk for a .182/.250/.182 line.
As of this writing I haven't seen tonight's lineup. If you have, please drop it in the comments.
The bullpen should be rested tonight as everyone had an off day yesterday. Some of them spent it at Alcatraz.