Tim Lincecum makes 88 pitches in debut with Salt Lake Bees

The Angels are counting on Tim Lincecum to bolster their injury-riddled pitching staff. Lincecum showed signs Thursday night that he might be capable of doing just that despite a disastrous first inning in his season debut with the Angels’ Salt Lake affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner loaded the bases and balked in a run before retiring a batter. The Tacoma Rainiers produced two runs on two hits in the first inning, and a leadoff walk in the second led to a third run for the Rainiers, the triple-A farm club of the Seattle Mariners.

After falling behind, 3-0, Lin-cecum gave up a one-out single in the second inning, then retired 10 consecutive batters before issuing a walk and hitting a batter in the fifth. Lincecum completed the inning before leaving the game to mild applause from a crowd of 5,643 at Cheney Stadium.

Lincecum’s line: Five innings, three runs, three hits, three walks, five strikeouts. He threw 88 pitches, 48 for strikes, and his fastball reached 91 mph. Lincecum suffered the loss in a 6-1 decision.

Lincecum, a nine-year veteran of the major leagues, said nerves played a factor in the rough first inning.

“I settled into it, started making better pitches and getting better results,” he said in a postgame news conference held in a bar underneath the stands.

“I was just a little erratic. I wasn’t staying within myself. I was trying to be too fine within the strike zone.”

Lincecum, who last month signed a one-year contract with the Angels for a reported $2 million after off-season hip surgery, is expected to start for Salt Lake on Tuesday in Reno, then join the Angels for a June 12 home game against the Cleveland Indians.

“It feels great to be out there competing,” he said.

Tacoma Manager Pat Listach said that Lincecum looked the same as he did when Listach was coaching for the Chicago Cubs against Lincecum a few years ago.

“There’s not a tougher competitor,” Listach said. “He competes even if he doesn’t have his best stuff.”

The Angels hope that Lincecum can regain some of the magic that earned him National League Cy Young recognition in 2008 and ’09 with the San Francisco Giants. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound right-hander set career highs in 2008 with 18 wins (against five losses), 227 innings pitched and a league-leading 265 strikeouts.

Lincecum’s ERA topped 4.00 in each of the last four seasons. Last year, he posted a 7-4 record and 4.13 ERA in 15 games (all starts) before undergoing the hip operation. After making $18 million last season, Lincecum became a free agent last winter when the Giants elected not to retain him.

Linecum, who turns 32 on June 15, said he has not felt this good since 2011.

He made his major league debut in May 2007, less than a year after the Giants made the former University of Washington star the 10th pick in the draft.

Lincecum grew up in the Seattle suburb of Renton, about 30 minutes from Tacoma. A handful of family members and friends attended the game.

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