SAN FRANCISCO — If Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt accepts an invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game this season, he would be wise to bring San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum along as his personal pitcher.
Goldschmidt has a greater home run rate against Lincecum than most players have against batting-practice pitchers. His amazing run reached seven homers in just 24 at-bats with his first-inning, three-run blast in Wednesday’s 7-3 win over the Giants.
How one-sided is the Goldschmidt-Lincecum matchup?
Consider this: Goldschmidt, who also homered against Lincecum when the teams met last week in Arizona, hit three home runs against veteran left-hander Chris Capuano. It’s the most he has against any pitcher other than Lincecum, against whom he has more than twice as many.
Lincecum clearly has not had much success in his career against Goldschmidt, but he did successfully get the slugger to hit the ball to right field at AT&T Park in their first encounter Wednesday. Only 21 opposing right-handed hitters had ever scaled the 20-foot-high barrier in the history of AT&T Park before Wednesday’s game.
Make that 22 now.
If you’re counting the days until the next fireworks show — and you have to know that Goldschmidt is — it’s going to be a while. After Thursday’s series finale, the teams don’t meet again until June 20.