Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum, who hasn’t appeared in a game since June 27, says he's confident he’ll pitch again this season, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“Yeah, definitely,” Lincecum said Saturday, speaking for the first time since being diagnosed with a degenerative condition in his hips. “With the way I’m progressing and with the way my throwing program has been going, I don’t see any reason why not.”
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The right-hander — 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA, his lowest since 2011, in 15 starts — admitted that some days are good and some not so good but that his condition “doesn’t scream surgery.”
The two-time Cy Young Award winner told the media that the two cortisone shots he received after visiting a doctor in Tennessee are relieving the inflammation and accompanying pain.
“They said the best-case scenario with my symptoms is to give it a little cortisone shot, give it a chance to calm down, let the cortisone work and allow the soft tissue around that area to relax and not be firing all the time,” said Lincecum, adding that he first felt discomfort in the hips when experiencing a back issue in last year’s postseason.
Lincecum threw off flat ground Saturday, the Chronicle reported, 50 to 60 throws of 60, 75, 90 and 115 feet and said afterward that he felt fine.
Although there's not time line for his return, he likely won't be back before rosters expand Sept. 1, according to CSN Bay Area, but there probably is a role he'll move into: All signs point to the bullpen, particularly after the Giants acquired starter Mike Leake from the Reds at the non-waiver trade deadline.
Asked about the Leake trade, which pushed Tim Hudson from the rotation, Lincecum said, “We’ve been known to be a team that lives off our pitching. Right now with what’s going on, I think we kind of needed it. Extra spark. Guy that knows how to pitch in hot weather. Good player, obviously. His sinker ball will fit into the confines of AT&T Park … and he can hit. I remember that.”
Going into Sunday's games, the Giants (57-46) trail the first-place Dodgers by 1.5 games in the NL West and are a game ahead of the Cubs for the second NL wild-card spot.
Lincecum, 31, is in the final year of a two-year contract and will be a free agent after the season.
