After throwing the 15th no-hitter in Giants franchise history against the Padres on Saturday, Tim Lincecum could hardly believe his own pitching performance.
"It’s pretty surreal for me to be a part of that," Lincecum told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Obviously I’ve gotten to see a couple of those, but to be in the middle of one is a little different. I’m still kind of pinching myself right now."
It took Lincecum 148 pitches to get through the game. He struck out 13 Padres while walking four. Lincecum was the beneficiary of some excellent Giants defense, including the gem of the night, a diving catch by Hunter Pence on a sinking line drive to end the eighth inning.
"That was really special," Lincecum said of that catch. "To be honest with you, I thought that was a hit off the bat. Hunter comes flying out of nowhere and makes a Superman catch."
As is typical following a no-hitter, Lincecum's catcher, Buster Posey, rushed the mound to hug the pitcher.
"He got me pretty good in the back. When I went up in the air, my mindset was still like 'This game is still going on.' I wasn't really thinking that was the last out,"Lincecumsaid.
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