Angels should be encouraged by Tim Lincecum's impressive debut

One start in, the Los Angeles Angels have to be very pleased with their decision to sign Tim Lincecum.

Making his first major-league start since June 27, 2015, the former two-time Cy Young award winner looked a like pitcher who's ready to contribute despite offseason hip surgery that seemingly threatened his future. In six innings of work, Lincecum allowed one earned run on four hits. He also walked two, hit one batter and struck out two.

Perhaps it wasn't the overpowering performance we became accustomed to with Lincecum during his magical days with the San Francisco Giants, but it was certainly a quality outing. Plenty good enough to earn Lincecum his first AL victory, as the Angels ran away with a 7-1 win against the A's.

It was also good enough to earn him a standing ovation from the Bay Area fans who are quite familiar with his work.

 

 

	Pedro Moura @pedromoura
Tim Lincecum walks off to an ovation after 6 1-run innings. He seems done. It was an encouraging outing. He’ll face the A’s again Thursday. 3:33 PM - 18 Jun 2016

Lincecum's efficiency may need some work, as he required 98 pitches to work though his six innings. But overall there were definitely more encouraging signs than concerns. Mainly, the A's didn't make a lot of hard contact, even when they got into favorable counts.

With his fastball velocity down around the high 80s and low 90s, Lincecum also showed a lot of confidence in his secondary pitches. That was especially true of his change up, which he used to keep A's batters off balance all afternoon long.

	ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
Tim Linecum: 38.8% of his pitches were changeups (most in a start since 2009). The A's were 1-11 in AB ending in a changeup from Lincecum. 4:42 PM - 18 Jun 2016

Of course, now that teams have seen Lincecum against a major-league opponent, they'll be able to adjust their scouting reports accordingly. That will be his biggest challenge, as teams start to zero in on his offspeed stuff and dare him to beat them with fastball.

Facing the A's again in his next start could be a both a detriment and a benefit in that regard. The detriment being that Oakland will be most familiar with this version of Lincecum, and the benefit being an opportunity to test his adjustments or use another gameplan completely.

That's to be worry about five days from now. For now. Lincecum should celebrate being back and have another opportunity to be "The Freak."