Lincecum's no-no pitch count hits home for Collins

NEW YORK -- As Tim Lincecum's pitch count during his recent no-hitter approached dangerous levels and Giants manager Bruce Bochy sweated it out on the dugout bench, Terry Collins understood what Bochy was feeling.

It was barely 13 months ago that the Mets manager endured similar circumstances, allowing Johan Santana to throw 134 pitches in his no-hitter against the Cardinals. Lincecum, who no-hit the Padres, threw 148.

"We just shared a similar feeling, how our guts were going into that last inning, the same way mine was last year with Johan," said Collins, a coach on Bochy's All-Star staff at Citi Field. "We just talked about who was sicker."

The verdict?

"I don't have Johan this year," Collins said, referring to Santana's season-ending shoulder surgery, "so it probably was me."