I thought Madison Bumgarner had taken over the role of hard-luck pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, but Matt Cain returned from the DL tonight to reclaim his place at the top of the heap. I must admit I wanted Matty to spend more time re-habbing before getting back to work--I think his struggles early this year could easily be attributed to fatigue. I know he would never claim that, but after 1500+ innings and 6300 batters in seven full seasons, wear-and-tear on the pitching arm is a legitimate concern. Nevertheless, Cainer was reasonably Cainian tonight, going 6-1/3 and allowing just two runs despite eight hits and four walks. It wasn't, I imagine, very pretty, but it was effective enough to keep the team close. Brandon McCarthy had other ideas, though, dominating the Giants over eight innings to secure the win for the Diamondbacks. A clutch hit, a bloop and a blast, something, anything, and the Giants could have pulled it out. Alas, that is not this team's métier. Last year they won the World Series even though Tim Lincecum was the worst starter in the league. This year Matt Cain is the broken one, and this year they are in last place. I don't know how to make sense of that.
MadBum gets the ball tomorrow for the rubber match.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. I was out tonight at a fundraising dinner and missed the telecast. I had a lot of fun and a great meal with good friends. I do have a life outside of Giants baseball, believe it or not!
1 comment:
It is not like these guys are getting Cained against god pitchers. It is often against a 4th or 5th starter from the other team. Meanwhile they will bomb a guy like Liriano. Of course Kershaw is good and they still cannot hit him, but I bet the giants average against bottom of the rotation guys is terrible.
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