The Bottom Line

Looking ahead

* Tim Lincecum, right, the NCAA player of the year last spring, makes his highly anticipated major league debut today for the San Francisco Giants. A hard-throwing right-hander, Lincecum was 4-0 with a 0.29 earned-run average at triple-A Fresno. He had given up only 12 hits and struck out 46 in 31 innings.

Looking back

* When Julio Franco of the New York Mets hit a two-run home run against Randy Johnson in the second inning of a 5-3 Mets victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, he extended his record for the oldest player in major league history to homer. He was 48 years 8 months 12 days.

It’s a fact

* On Thursday night, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners stole his 41st consecutive base without being caught, setting an American League record. He had been tied with Tim Raines, who accomplished the feat from 1993 to 1995. The major league record is 50, held by Vince Coleman.

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MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

DODGERS IN THE MINORS

BRENT LEACH, P

Inland Empire; Class A

A 6-foot-4 left-hander, Leach, 24, has made the transition from starter to reliever and is flourishing. He has a 0.51 earned-run average with three saves and 23 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings. As a starter last season at Class-A Columbus, he was 4-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 10 starts. He then went to Vero Beach to become a reliever. He struggled a bit with the transition, going 3-4 with a save and a 4.59 ERA, but he had a combined 124 strikeouts in 101 innings. He also led the minor leagues with 22 pickoffs. He’s not your typical strikeout pitcher because his fastball tops out in the low 90s, but he has a repertoire of four solid pitches to keep batters guessing.

TONY ABREU, SS

Las Vegas; Triple A

A versatile infielder who can also play second or third, Abreu, 22, is an on-base machine, batting .351 with an on-base percentage of .402. He’s a speedy leadoff type without much power (19 home runs in 1,633 minor league at-bats) but he has three triples and has scored 25 runs in 25 games this season -- his first playing higher than double A. He had a good spring and was considered a contender to make the big league team after batting .340 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. He needs to improve on his 19-7 strikeouts-to-walks ratio before he’s ready to lead off in the majors.

--PETER YOON