San Francisco right-hander Tim Lincecum showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie last season. Even with some rough spots along the way, the 23-year-old prospect managed to finish 7-5 with a 4.00 ERA for a Giants club that finished 20 games under .500.

Lincecum, who turned 24 on Sunday, has been dominant for most of 2008. Despite his team’s 31-42 record, he’s 8-1 with a 2.21 ERA that ranks second in the majors behind the 1.64 mark posted by Cincinnati surprise Edinson Volquez. The Reds are 33-41, but Volquez is 9-2, and he and Lincecum share an ability to put hitters away with runners in scoring position.

Among pitchers who have faced at least 60 batters with runners in scoring position, Lincecum has limited opponents to a major league-low .121 average (11-for-91). Nearly as stingy are Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets and Volquez.

Lowest Opponent Batting Average Allowed by Pitchers with RISP
(minimum 60 batters faced with RISP)

Pitcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Record. . . . . . . . .OBA
Tim Lincecum, SF. . . . . . . . .8-1 (2.21). . . . . . . .121
Ben Sheets, Mil. . . . . . . . . .8-1 (2.74). . . . . . . .141
Edinson Volquez, Cin. . . . . . 9-2 (1.64). . . . . . . .147
Jake Peavy, SD. . . . . . . . . . .5-4 (2.88). . . . . . . .161
Tim Redding, Was. . . . . . . . .6-3 (4.10). . . . . . . .162
Shaun Marcum, Tor. . . . . . . 5-4 (2.65). . . . . . . .169

Shutting down opponents in pressure situations goes a long way toward winning, but a little run support always helps. The pitchers on the leader board who have received less than five runs of support per nine innings are Shaun Marcum (3.92) and Jake Peavy (4.59). Both are just 5-4 despite ERAs less than 3.00.