Tag: Matt Cain

Giants are beat up and the Dodgers are ascending, how does S.F. stem the tide?

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By Morris Phillips

AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner delivers against the Atlanta Braves Sunday at AT&T Park Mad Bum’s last win

SAN FRANCSICO–On the same day the Giants banged out four home runs, four triples, and won 13-4 behind Madison Bumgarner, the Dodgers may have played more impressively.

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers pushed across the only run of the day in the eighth inning to back the pitching of starter Brock Stewart, and relievers Jesse Chavez, Grant Dayton and Joe Blanton—four guys who didn’t have definitive roles on the roster when the season began—and beat the Cubs, the team with the big league’s best record.

On a weekend the Giants played the worst team in baseball, and the Dodgers played the best, the Giants fared no better than their rivals, winning twice and losing once. After the Dodgers fell 8-1 to the Rockies in Denver on Monday, and the Giants enjoyed a day off, Los Angeles’ lead in the NL West sits at a 1 ½ games, so far a number the Dodgers are doing a lot more to protect than the six-game lead the Giants held during the All-Star break.

On the surface the teams couldn’t be closer in achievements and results—both have scored 586 runs this season, both have allowed 524—but this week shows that the Dodgers have clearly been the more impressive club, whether or not injured ace Clayton Kershaw finds his way back to the mound before the season ends.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Giants fell in Los Angeles with both their aces, Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, on the mound. On Thursday, the Giants rebounded behind Matt Moore’s near no-hitter. Again, advantage to the Dodgers.

So what can the Giants do to close the gap?

Most importantly, they can’t blink now. After Wednesday, the Giants play 17 of their next 24 games on the road. Injuries are mounting; reliever Derek Law was placed on the disabled list, Brandon Belt is battling a stiff neck, and Hunter Pence hasn’t really been healthy all year. Since returning from his two-month stint on the disabled list July 30, Pence has hit just one home run. Now, Pence is battling a hamstring issue–the classic injury for a body forced to compensate for nicks in other places—and missed the previous two games.

Also this week, Jake Peavy and Gregor Blanco landed on the disabled list.

If the Giants can stay within striking distance, over the next 26 games, they then get the final six of the regular season at home, and the final three against the Dodgers (September 19-21). The trick is getting there, and a deficit of 2 ½ games heading into the final week may be the most realistic to overcome. That means the Giants must play no worse than one game off the pace of the Dodgers over that 26 games, with the last three in Dodgers Stadium.

It won’t be easy.  For one, the Giants don’t have a definitive fifth starter with Peavy on the DL, and Albert Suarez suited to long relief, as a guy who couldn’t get through the opposing lineup a second time in his start on Saturday. All of a sudden, Matt Cain is back in the picture, scheduled to come off the disabled list for a start Friday in Chicago.

Cain shut down the Cubs at AT&T the first time around, but how will he fare in Wrigley Field? Cain’s ERA in six road starts this season is over six. His ERA in three August starts before he was shut down was 7.24. Neither number bodes well for Cain’s viability on Friday.

So who can the Giants depend on with the team sliding and their collective health deteriorating? At the top of the list are leadoff hitter Denard Span and Joe Panik, who homered twice in the same game on Sunday, the first time he’s achieved that feat in his major league career. Span’s hit .346 in August, boosting his overall average to .277.

Jarrett Parker was promoted and replaced Pence in right field on Sunday. If Pence needs more time, Parker becomes the starter. With Parker it’s big (nine extra base hits, 19 walks) or insignificant (38 strikeouts in 114 official at-bats) further highlighting the tenuous position of the club as a whole.

With Law removed from the bullpen, someone else needs to get hot. If it’s hot as Law was (most recent 11 innings, 0.79 ERA) then it will be significant. Will Smith, Sergio Romo and Hunter Strickland are the likeliest candidates to heat up, but if one of those three falls off, that could be just as telling.

On Tuesday, the Giants welcome the Diamondbacks with Zach Greinke facing Johnny Cueto in a matchup of double-digit winners at 7:15pm.

 

Giants blow early lead, get swept by the Pirates

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Cain crushed

By Morris Phillips

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

According to manager Bruce Bochy, he’s got tough guys, but the get going part has yet to take place.

On Wednesday, the Giants saw their 4-0 lead evaporate in one inning, Matt Cain’s disastrous fifth in which he coughed all six runs the Pirates would need in a 6-5 victory that capped a three-game sweep. On top of all the Giants have experienced in their 9-21 stretch since the All-Star break, they now have a pair of mid-game meltdowns in less than a week, the type that teams that aren’t tough, don’t survive.

“We couldn’t ask for more than what we created there,” Bochy said. “We just couldn’t finish.”

Cain was cruising along, allowing just one hit, until the fifth. Then, that fast, Cain wasn’t cruising. He hit David Freese, then walked John Jaso, Jordy Mercer and Eric Fryer to force in a run. Manager Clint Hurdle, sensing an opportunity, then pinch-hit for his starter, Ivan Nova, and Matt Joyce delivered a two-run single.

Josh Harrison then hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game. With the Giants’ bullpen in motion, Cain recovered to retire Sterling Marte for the second out, but Andrew McCutchen was next, and Bochy decided to stick with Cain. But McCutchen deposited Cain’s first pitch–a substandard fastball–over the left field wall.

“I probably stuck with him a little long there, being honest,” Bochy admitted. “I felt he had enough to get through it. It didn’t play out.”

With five opportunities remaining, and a two-run deficit, the Giants’ response was tepid. Rallies fizzled in the fifth and sixth, nothing more promising came in the seventh and eighth, then with a real opportunity in the ninth, the first three batters reached to load the bases, the normally clutch Buster Posey hit into a double play, then Brandon Crawford flew out to center to end the game.

The Giants finished 3 of 10 with runners in scoring position, actually an improvement on their 5 of 23 in the first two games of the season. Regardless of the numbers, the Giants have been consistently one hit short, hitting just below .200 since the All-Star break.

Now, after a four-game losing streak that began with the meltdown against the Orioles on Sunday, the Giants are looking up at the Dodgers, now holding a 1 ½ game lead in the NL West. At some point, the Giants have to respond, but it hasn’t happened yet.

“We better find a way to get out of it pretty soon, we know that,” Bochy said.

Posey provided a boost on Wednesday by starting a day game after a night game after the All-Star missed a pair of games with back issues. Brandon Belt fouled a pitch off his leg in the fifth, but stayed in the game as the Giants fielded a lineup with all eight of their preferred starters.

The Giants get what should be a break next with the hapless Mets in for four games with Madison Bumgarner lined up to pitch the first one. The Mets, hitting .188 since the break with runners in scoring position, have an offense struggling to a greater degree than the Giants. But can the Giants take advantage?

Bumgarner faces Jacob deGrom in the opener at 7:15pm on Thursday.

No Dodger hangover for the Giants, rout the Brewers, 11-5

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Span splash

By Morris Phillips

The pick-me-up any team needs the day after the “biggest” game of the year was provided by Denard Span on the game’s third pitch.

The Giants’ one remaining, healthy starting outfielder launched one off Chase Anderson, marking the first leadoff splash home run by a Giant in the history of AT&T Park. With so many in the park torn in their attention with the Warriors playing, and McCovey Cove nearly deserted on a blustery, almost bitterly cold night outside the yard, Span’s splash smash didn’t get nearly the attention it deserved.

Except among Span’s teammates, who quickly took fancy to their leadoff man’s cue.

The Giants went on to bash the Brewers, 11-5, an anomaly for a team that seemingly is always caught up in a close, tense, low-scoring ballgame like the ones with the Dodgers over the just completed weekend. All those close ballgames can take a lot out of a club, but not the Giants. While the Dodgers were a bit lackadaisical in their 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Monday, the Giants bashed out 14 hits, pulled away with six runs late, and increased their NL West lead to a season-best six games.

Span and Matt Duffy each had three hits, Span and Joe Panik each scored three runs, and all the offense both propped up and overshadowed the return of Matt Cain from the disabled list.

Cain allowed five hits and walked five batters before he was replaced in the fourth, with two runners aboard and the Giants clinging to a 4-2 lead.   Afterwards, Cain said what was ultimately most important, that he felt fine physically and will be in line to make his next start, hopefully the precursor to him regaining the form he achieved before he was shelved with a hamstring issue.

Reliever George Kontos replaced Cain and retired the dangerous Ryan Braun to end the inning.

Manager Bruce Bochy then turned to Albert Suarez in what would become a critical, long relief role, as he recorded 11 outs during the period of the game where the Giants pulled away with a run in the sixth, four in the seven, and two more in the eighth.

The Giants have won nine of 11 at home, while the Brewers lost in San Francisco for the seventh time in their last eight appearances.

On Tuesday, the Giants Madison Bumgarner makes his 14th start of the season, the last nine of which have resulted in a San Francisco victory. Bumgarner will be opposed by a familiar opponent, Matt Garza making his season debut.

The 32-year old Garza made six spring training starts but began the season on the disabled list with back issues. After a pair of rehab starts in the minors, the veteran looks to rebound from a subpar 2015 in which he lost a career-worst 14 games.

 

 

Where does Matt Cain go from here?: Struggling veteran roughed up in Rockies’ record-setting 17-7 win

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Cain frustrated

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–On a wacky night like this, a pair of teams with .500 early-season records sure didn’t seem like equals.

The Giants followed a brief 3-3 road trip with the clunker of all clunkers in their return to AT&T Park Thursday night, a 17-7 loss to the Rockies, that if nothing else, showed vividly which of the middling NL West contenders is trending in the right direction, and which one is not.

The Rockies improved to 5-2 on their road trip—always an eye-opener for the Mile High-based club that has traditionally faltered on the road—while the Giants turned to Matt Cain, and saw him flounder from the third batter he faced, the 13th consecutive start in which he has failed to record a win.

And while Cain could possibly label the 297th start of his career his worst, it wasn’t as bad as Vin Mazzaro’s relief appearance in which he recorded just one out, while allowing nine of the 13 runs in Colorado’s record-breaking fifth inning.

And while a 13-run inning is a big story in itself, it’s merely a chapter in a bigger story for San Francisco: How far can the Giants go with Cain and Jake Peavy? The veteran pair have made a combined 12 starts, allowing 91 hits in 60 innings. As expected, manager Bruce Bochy said after the game, for the moment, the two veterans remain rotation members in good standing.

“It’s been encouraging at times, but at the same time, we know we have to get better there. And Matty will tell you the same thing, just like Jake. They’ve been around, they have experience. But right now, they’re our guys and we’re staying behind them.”

The 13-run inning was the biggest outburst of any major league club since 2010. It also marked the biggest inning in the history of the Rockies—Coors Field or not.   The 17 runs scored by Colorado was just two off the most the club has ever scored in a road game, only fewer than the 19 runs the Rockies scored on September 25, 2011 in Houston.

And while the big inning was surely unique, it must have felt oddly familiar to the Giants. Exactly a week ago, with Peavy on the mound, the Giants surrendered 12 runs in an inning to the Mets.

“It’s hard to believe lightning hit us twice here in about a week,” Bochy said.

Cain started off inauspiciously enough. He retired the first two batters, but then Carlos Gonzalez singled, and major league home run leader Nolan Arenado deposited a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall.   Gerardo Parra doubled, Mark Reynolds singled him home and just that fast the Rockies led 3-0.

The Giants responded with a pair of runs in the first, another in the second, to lessen the impact of Cain’s rocky beginnings, but after a couple of encouraging innings, rookie sensation Trevor Story touched Cain for a homer leading off the fifth, and the floodgates opened.

In all Cain, allowed 10 hits—half of those for extra bases—and six earned runs. Unable to record an out in the fifth, he was lifted, the third time the season the veteran has failed to finish five innings in a start.

Former Athletic, Vin Mazzaro, followed, and the Rockies methodically, and unemotionally, picked the reliever apart. Mazzaro faced 10 batters, allowing six hits, a walk, and nine runs, seven of those earned.

After being lifted, Mazzaro sat puzzled in the dugout, his facial expression resembling that of someone that had just witnessed a train wreck. As much as any Murderer’s Row can display modesty, the Rockies did, taking the whole 37-minute fireworks display in stride.

“Everybody was just putting good swings on the ball and having fun with it,” rookie Trevor Story said.

The Giants played without Hunter Pence, who suffered back tightness before the game, and Joe Panik, who’s sidelined with a groin issue. The poor pitching wasn’t their only issue; sure handed Brandon Crawford and Kelby Tomlinson, playing second base, made untimely errors in the fifth. Earlier, third base coach Roberto Kelly inexplicably sent Buster Posey home on Crawford’s single, challenging Gonzalez’ rocket arm with no outs. Posey was thrown out easily, and Mac Williamson followed by hitting an inning-ending double play ball.

Had the Giants pushed a run across in that third inning, it would have tied the game 4-4.

With the loss, the Giants fell into a three-way tie for first with the Rockies and Dodgers. All three have .500 records, but while the Dodgers and Rockies have winning records against NL West competition thus far, the Giants have dropped ten of 18 games within their division.

On Friday night, the Giants turn to Madison Bumgarner, coming off his impressive start in New York, in a matchup with Colorado’s Chad Bettis.

 

San Francisco Giants Friday game wrap: Brown, Crawford Go Deep To Down Dodgers In A Wild Comeback Win

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By Shawn Whelchel

AP photo: No hitter going? That’s all for you, as Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts takes Dodger starter Ross Stripling out in the eighth inning despite pitching a no hitter vs. San Francisco Giants

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-After nearly being on the receiving end of a historic no-hitter, the San Francisco Giants’ bats came alive late in the game to launch two home runs that would give the home team 2-0 series advantage over their rivals from the south.

After mustering just three baserunners through seven innings-all on walks- Trevor Brown’s homer in the eighth and Brandon Crawford’s long ball in the 10th would send the rain AT&T Park crowd home on a high note after the hometown squad would take both a no-hitter and a win away from the Dodgers on Saturday for a 3-2 victory.

Dodger rookie Ross Stripling put on a dazzling display of offspeed pitches mixed with solid fastball location that looked to put the Giants on the wrong side of a century old record for being no-hit by a debut pitcher.

But after completing 7 1/3 with a no-hitter in tact, a questionable move by manager Dave Roberts to pull the streaking youngster would lead another rookie to the spotlight instead.

The Giants first hit of the game would prove to be a crucial one, as C Trevor Brown’s first career home run would not only break up the Dodgers’ impending no-hitter, but would look to breathe new life into a stagnant Giants offense and send the game into 2-2 tie in the 8th inning.

Crawford would follow up the rookie’s display with an opposite shot of his own to lead off the 10th inning, launching his second career walk-off home run into the left field bleachers to hand his team the win.

The combination of home runs would see a Los Angeles kid in Brown hurt his hometown team, and a Bay Area native deal the finishing blow to his long-standing rival.

Lost in the fray of home runs and near no-hitters was Matt Cain’s impressive return to the mound. After a pair of injury marred seasons that saw the former ace hit the disabled list, the workhorse made a triumphant comeback in his first start of the season, surrendering just six hits over six innings of work while giving up just two runs.

The back of the rotation for both clubs saw strong outings from the returning ace in Cain and the newcomer Stripling. Both pitchers worked through the opposing lineups masterfully, while holding each team to just three runners in scoring position through the first five innings.

The duel was an encouraging sign for both clubs, as the former ace in Cain looked to rebound from injury-marred and ineffective seasons for the Giants, while Stripling looked to add some back-of-the-rotation punch for the Dodgers. But the Dodgers gained the advantage after five innings, as an RBI single from catcher A.J Ellis ended Cain’s scoreless streak after Joc Pederson came around to score following a leadoff double.

The Dodger’s young shortstop Corey Seager would pile on the damage with a two-out RBI single up the gut to make it a 2-0 deficit for Cain before he would escape the inning with a flyout to Justin Turner.

Meanwhile, Stripling continued his strong effort by mixing using an effective mix of offspeed pitches and fastball control to keep Giants runners off the base path, with just  two runners coming on consecutive walks through six innings.

The 26-year old looked to run into trouble heading into the 7th inning after issuing a leadoff walk to Hunter Pence, only to fall behind to Brandon Belt 0-3. But the Texas native rebounded by inducing a double-play ball from Belt, which was followed by a weak grounder from Matt Duffy to keep the no-hitter in tact.

Stripling looked to continue his quest to become the first rookie to throw a no-hitter in over a century during his debut, but after issuing a one-out walk to Angel Pagan, new Dodgers manager showed his short leash by yanking the youngster after an impressive debut.

The questionable move by manager Dave Roberts would come back to haunt the Dodgers, as Brown-who got his first start of the young season- would launch a two run home run off of RP Chris Hatcher to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th just moments after Stripling’s departure.

The Giants would work another runner into scoring position, before Hatcher would end the threat. But not before Brown’s longball would breathe new life into the ballgame.

Just as they had done the day before, the Giants would complete their comeback with a dagger of a homerun, as Crawford would connect with a 1-0 pitch from reliever Joe Blanton to secure the second straight win for the Giants against their NL West rivals.

The Giants look to make it three straight over the Dodgers tomorrow, as aces Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw square off in an afternoon start.

Another day, another A – former Oakland Athletic Brandon McCarthy spoils Matt Cain’s return with a 2-1 Diamondbacks victory

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By Emily Zahner and Kahlil Najar

SAN FRANCISCO,CA–The San Francisco Giants (63-79) could not solve the puzzle that was Arizona Diamondbacks’ (72-69) starter Brandon McCarthy, as they fell 2-1 to the visiting D-backs. The former Oakland Athletic improved to 4-9 on the season with the win tonight from eight strong innings. In a thrilling pitchers battle, Matt Cain also threw a great game, only giving up two runs on eight hits. Unfortunately for the Giants, McCarthy was just a little bit better. With the loss tonight, the Giants are now one loss away from elimination from the post season. The Diamondbacks sit 11 games back from the continually impressive LA Dodgers.

The silver lining Giants fans can grasp from from this loss and maybe for the remainder of the season is that after missing 14 games on the DL, Matt Cain (8-9) came back and appeared to have no trouble or pain. He went six and a third, gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out three. Cain even took a hard grounder to his right calf from Arizona’s power hitter Paul Goldschmidt. “Matt did a nice job since coming off the DL. It’s been a while since he’s been out there. Pitching and defense did a great job tonight keeping that game close but we couldn’t help with the offense” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Offensively for the Giants, Hunter Pence continued his hot streak. His two singles tonight pushed him to his 49th multihit game of the year, good enough to tie him for third in the National League. Angel Pagan continued his amazing return to the line up when he dazzled the fans with what could be called the play of the night. After a deep double by Gerardo Parra, Pagan took the ball on the bounce and shot a dart to shortstop Brandon Crawford who relayed it to catcher Hector Sanchez, who tagged out Wil Nieves, who was trying to score from first. Bochy echoed Pagans accolades, “He’s worked hard to get to this point. He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. It’s really amazing considering the surgery he had. This is big for him as we wind down the season, he goes into next season knowing he’s healthy and 100%.”

For Arizona, Brandon McCarthy (4-9) went eight strong innings, surrendered six hits and only one run. Paul Goldschmidt and Gerardo Parra provided the offense for the Diamondbacks as they went 5 for 8 with three singles, a double and a triple and driving in both Arizona runs. McCarthy was replaced in the ninth by another former Athletics, Brad Ziegler, who threw an easy 1-2-3 inning for his ninth save of the year. With his win tonight, McCarthy was questioned as to how he was able to come into AT&T and pitch as well as he did, “It’s just trying to execute as many pitches as I can. Focus on what I can control.” Bochy also had high praises for the Arizona starter, saying “We couldn’t figure out McCarthy. His pitches moved a lot and we didn’t hit any balls hard tonight.”

The scoring started in the bottom of the third when Brandon Crawford scored after Marco Scutaro hit his 110th single of the year to center field to give the Giant’s a 1-0 lead. Crawford had led off the inning with a single of his own and was scooted over to third by a sac bunt from Matt Cain and a grounder to first by Angel Pagan. The Diamondbacks got on the board then next inning when Gerardo Parra hit a line drive to Hunter Pence in right field and scored Paul Goldschmidt to tie the score at one apiece. Goldschmidt gave Arizona the lead for good when in the fourth when he hit shot to the deepest part of the AT&T park that scored Adam Eaton from first to seal the victory with a final score of 2-1.

The Giants will try to stave off elimination tomorrow as they take on Arizona’s Wade Miley (9-10, 3.78) and put Madison Bumgarner (11-9, 2.91) on the mound. Game time 1:05pm PST.