"The Braves will run out rookie Mike Minor to face Tim Lincecum tonight in a series finale at Turner Field, and they obviously hope they get a version of The Freak that's closer to the one they faced in April than the monster they saw in the division series.

Lincecum is 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA in his past four regular-season starts against the Braves, the most recent on April 23 at San Francisco, where the Braves touched him up for five runs, six hits and a career-worst six walks in 6-1/3 innings.

But no one has forgotten the division series, when he completely dominated Braves hitters in a two-hit shutout with one walk and 14 strikeouts. It was masterful.

For his career, the two-time Cy Young winner is 7-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 10 starts against the Braves, including the one postseason start. In those 10 games, Lincecum has piled up 81 strikeouts in 68-1/3 career innings.

By the way, Lincecum comes in on a roll, with a 1.11 ERA and 4-2 record in six starts since the All-Star break. He has a 2.08 ERA and .211 opponents' average in 13 road starts this season, with 102 strikeouts and 32 walks in 86-2/3 innings."