PHOENIX — The San Francisco Giants know they will have to fork out millions to Tim Lincecum when he’s eligible for arbitration this winter. But Brian Wilson will earn a hefty raise, too.

While Wilson didn’t repeat as an All-Star this season, he took a much greater step toward becoming one of the game’s best in the ninth inning.
“I think he’s looked at as one of the elite closers in the game now,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “I’m not only looking at the saves. I don’t know what closer has had to work harder than Brian. He’s come in the eighth, he’s thrown multiple innings. We’ve taxed him pretty good.”
Wilson probably won’t equal his 41 saves from last season. He entered Tuesday with 35. But every other statistic shows marked improvement. He has nearly halved his ERA from 2008 (4.62 to 2.61). He is allowing fewer hits (from 9.0 to 7.6) and walks (from 4.0 to 3.3) per nine innings. And he has given up just two home runs, down from seven last year.
Wilson was told to work all spring on a changeup, which he throws. But the real key to his emergence has been changing speeds off his slider — and throwing it with greater command — to keep hitters from cheating on his upper-90s fastball.
Noted for his frenetic workouts, Wilson appears to have plenty left to be an impact reliever down the stretch and beyond. He entered Tuesday with a 1.21 ERA in 26 games since the All-Star break.
“At times I’ve brought him in when it wasn’t a save opportunity and he hasn’t said anything,” Bochy said. “He wants to be out there pitching.”
Wilson and Lincecum are both clients of the Beverly Hills Sports Council. Don’t expect any package discounts, though.
—Pablo Sandoval will report to the Giants’ minor-league complex in early November for a three-week diet and conditioning program. The Giants want the 23-year-old switch hitter to drop 20 to 30 pounds.
—Madison Bumgarner is already setting strikeout records, or at least is helping them to be set. The 20-year-old rookie struck out Arizona’s Mark Reynolds in the fourth inning Tuesday — the third baseman’s 205th strikeout of the season, breaking his own year-old major league record for a season.
Matt Cain struck out Reynolds in the third inning to tie the record. Reynolds was the only batter Cain retired in the third.