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He had his moments tonight, but his command was definitely erratic. He threw almost exclusively fastballs. I'm not sure he threw more than one curve for a strike, and the one he did Victorino hit out of the park. The way his velocity fell off towards the end leads me to believe he was riding a lot of nervous energy, then hit a bit of a wall when it ran out.


It was a strange performance. I don't recall seeing any hammer curves. He did throw a smattering of ordinary curves (the best being the one Victorino launched) but was mostly living off a diet of fastballs. He hit 98 a couple of times plus a few 96s and 97s but that was early. He seemed to lose velocity and consistent command of his fastball as he got deeper into his pitch count. It didn't help that he had a few labor-intensive innings. What disappointed me the most was he (or Molina, who he was probably too scared to shake off) wasn't adjusting to the situation. Howard is going to sit fastball if all you're throwing is fastballs. Mix it up. I figured he was saving his offspeed stuff for the second go-round in the Phillies' lineup, but not really. Credit to the Phillies for their tough lineup. But Lincecum is going to have to make changes if he's going to pass the Colorado test (another fastball-loving team). And I'm not hanging any Victorino specials in that Denver air. Friday night will be a true test for him.

All in all, he showed me a little something but not everything I was looking for.

-Dave