SD 3 SF 2
It was only fitting that Matt Cain would pitch well in his farewell; it was only fitting that the Giants would tag their teammate with another ND. You are what you is, like FZ sez, and Matt Cain is (was) a hard-luck pitcher. At the same time, he had an outstanding career, and his exploits will forever be etched in SFG lore. The fans got their celebration today, desperately needed in this un-celebratory season, and the Tennessee Stud got a proper send-off. Bit of drama in the 5th, his final frame, after walking the leadoff man he got a visit from Boch, the crowd booed, then the skipper left him in, and then they cheered. Matty did his part: twelve pitches to three batters for another scoreless inning.
Cain's line was 5 IP (18 batters, 73 pitches), 2 H 1 W, 4 K, and zero runs allowed in his 331st start. He turns 33 tomorrow having pitched professionally since he was 17 years old, all in the Giants organization, making his major league debut in 2005.
The Giants had a 1-0 lead after the 5th when Cain was pulled. The Padres tied it in the 6th. The Giants went ahead in the 7th. They took a 2-1 lead to the 9th, and with two strikes, two outs, and two on, a two-bagger scored two and the Rockies went ahead 3-2. That was the final--the Giants lose in Cain's last start. But that's the story of 2017. It will be over soon, I promise.
Matt Cain helped the Giants to a whole heap of wins over the years even if he didn't get the 'W' tag after each one. He was near tears in his post-game chat with AmyG, and that's only fitting.
--M.C.
p.s. Thanks to the real Matt Cain for inspiring me to spill lots of digital ink over the years!
p.p.s. Apologies to John Updike.
8 comments:
Except they played the Padres, not the Rockies.
the loss was another brutal loss. Our best fielder who made some great plays earlier in the game, made an error in the top of the ninth. As I have said before when he makes an error the team falls apart. But that is not the entirety of his blemish. He was picked off of second base in the bottom of the 8th. Cain's good performance today, when he wanted it so bad, does suggest that many of his woes have been mental. That his mental toughness and desire are not with him any more. He did pitch very nicely today, he did not have a one inning lapse of concentration. It shows that he certainly can still do it. He will retire after a couple of seasons of injuries and much worse stats than he had previously. He certainly should be in good financial positions. He will be missed. He had been the rock of this team for so many years. It just seems odd that Cain, Lincecum and Sanchez, all had shortened careers, but Cain's seemed the least likely for that to occur. I hope he will be back with the giants in some capacity.
Screw the record book.
I'm giving Cain the WIN.
Praising Matt Cain
I fixed the Rockies mistake--thanks for catching that.
At this point it is best to say "opponent" as it matters little which one.
I always wonder if these guys want to stay in the game. Cain's been part of the franchise his whole adult life. 13 years in the bigs is a long time, twice the average career length. 331 starts is a long haul--he's 12th among active players.
Sam Dyson looked like such a good pick up for awhile, but not so much lately. The send off the Giants gave Matt was just awful. So......2017.
Dyson actually had some of his best stuff in this game. Sometimes things just do not work out. Crawford had a bad 8th and 9th inning himself. When a 214 drives a sinking fastball into the gap a foot away from where Pence could get to it, one has to give the Padres some Kudos and continue to give the giants horrible luck, and chokiness. A really good giants team would have come back in the bottom of the ninth and procured the win.
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