Jun 14 2009
Cain improves to 9-1 with complete game gem against A’s…
Matt Cain was phenomenal in his outing against the Oakland Athletics. Cain led the Giants to a 7-1 victory and helped them complete a sweep against their Bay Area rivals.
Two days after Tim Lincecum’s complete game gem against the A’s, Matt Cain hurled one of his own complete game gems, his 3rd complete game of the season and 7th of his young big league career.
One thing is for certain, Matt Cain is having one of those seasons that people around the nation are going to start talking about. Cain is not only making his case for this year’s National League Cy Young, but he is also making the case to be the starter for the National League team in this year’s All-Star classic in St. Louis next month.
Matt Cain’s numbers are spectacular as he is now 9-1 with a 2.39 E.R.A. He ranks 1st in the NL in wins, 3rd in the NL in E.R.A., and is on a personal 7 game winning streak. He hasn’t lost since May 2nd against the now hot Colorado Rockies. He is also 3-0 with a 2.65 E.R.A. in the month of June.
In this particular outing against the A’s, Cain went the full nine innings, gave up only 4 hits, 1 earned run on a solo homerun by Jack Cust, and had 9 strikeouts en route to a 7-1 Giants victory.
The offense was led by some role players and one unheralded star of this Giants squad. First, Andres Torres, filling in at Centerfield and the leadoff spot for Aaron Rowand to give him much needed rest, went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. And Nate Schierholtz vying for an everyday job as the rightfielder for the Giants had a spectacular day as he went 2 for 4 with a HR and 3RBI’s on the day. His homerun was not your ordinary homerun either as he hit a ball into triple’s alley for a three-run inside the park homerun. It marked the 1st homerun of the season and 1st major league career homerun for Schierholtz. However, Nate will take it anyway he can get in the Giants’ pitcher friendly park. Schierholtz also threw out Jack Hannahan at second base on a single down the line after Hannahan tried to turn it into a double. All in all, Schierholtz was the star of the game.
Moreover, the forgotten man in this game is Giants young hitting sensation and versatile Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval hit a long 2 run homerun to left field off of A’s young starter Brett Anderson in the first inning to give the Giants a 3-1 lead and it also turned out to be the game-winner. So Sandoval was the unheralded star in this game and he also played a solid game at 1st base picking balls and stretching like he has played the position all his life. No matter where you put the “Panda”, he is going to give you 110% percent and play that position well and smoke balls when is at the plate.
Sandoval, like Cain and Lincecum, is a spirited player and is starting to make a name for himself and hopefully he can join his fellow teammates in the All-Star Classic next month. Sandoval is now hitting .325 on the year (which ranks 7th in the NL in Batting Average) with 6HR and 29RBI.
Random Fact: In this series, Giants starters went 25 innings, gave up only 15 hits, and struck out 29 batters and gave up only 2 walks en route to a 3-0 record and sweep of the Oakland Athletics. The Giants Big Three (Lincecum, Johnson, and Cain) are proving to be a Godsend for these Giants as their combined record is 21-7, which is best in the Majors out of all the 1,2,3 punches in the rotation around the league. Giants offense also outscored the A’s 15-3 thanks to some excellent starting pitching by Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson, and Matt Cain.
