Cain named No. 5 starter
S.F. pitchers shut down A’s
Giants pitcher Matt Cain landed squarely in the news Friday, even if he did not step atop the mound in Game 2 of the Bay Bridge Series against the A’s at AT&T Park.
Manager Bruce Bochy, speaking before his team’s 2-1 victory, named Cain as San Francisco’s fifth starter. This came as absolutely no surprise, even if Cain has not pitched well this spring — 0-1 with a 7.82 ERA in seven appearances.
The Giants still tapped him over Ty Blach (2-1, 4.22), and it would be naive to think Cain’s contract didn’t play a role. He will earn $20 million this season, the final guaranteed year of his deal.
Cain probably will make his first regularseason start Friday in San Diego.
“I thought Matt handled everything well,” Bochy said of spring training. “He was healthy, he threw strikes. He got better as it went. His last couple starts, you could see him getting better and better with his command.
“His secondary pitches really came around there at the end. He deserves to be our fifth starter right now.”
Bochy did not commit to Cain as the long-term solution behind Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore. It would make sense for the Giants to re-evaluate the No. 5 spot a few weeks into the season.
Blach will be waiting in the wings if Cain stumbles.
“We’ll use Ty everywhere,” Bochy said. “He’ll be a swing man. He can do everything from long relief to spot start to what he did (Thursday) night.”
Blach pitched one scoreless inning and picked up the win in Thursday night’s Bay Bridge Series opener.
Bochy made more news after Friday night’s game, confirming left fielder/first baseman Chris Marrero will make the team. The Giants also sent three players to Triple-A Sacramento — infielder Kelby Tomlinson and pitchers Josh Osich and Albert Suarez — with more roster moves expected Saturday morning, before the exhibition finale in Oakland.
As for the game itself, Samardzija and his A’s counterpart, Jharel Cotton, both pitched effectively in their last exhibition starts.
Cotton made one mistake, which shortstop Brandon Crawford planted in the seats for an opposite-field homer. Samardzija allowed one hit and struck out six in five innings, his longest start this spring. He hasn’t permitted any runs in his past two starts, spanning nine innings.
Samardzija got some help from his defense. Crawford ranged to his right to make a nice play on Khris Davis’ sharp grounder in the second inning. Then, in the fourth, right fielder Hunter Pence made a nice, sliding catch on Matt Joyce’s sinking line drive.
“That’s a big reason I signed here — this organization puts a lot of onus on defense,” Samardzija said.
Friday night’s game highlighted a fundamental issue for these 2017 A’s: They need some offense.
Oakland absorbed a shutout Thursday night and didn’t score until the eighth Friday, when Jaff Decker smacked an RBI double off Hunter Strickland. The Giants quickly untied it, taking a 2-1 lead on Eduardo Nuñez’s fielder’s choice grounder.
The A’s threatened in the ninth, loading the bases, but Crawford roamed far to his left to field Ryan Lavarnway’s grounder and throw him out.
“Overall, that’s a good game,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Obviously you want to win it, but the intensity is high . ... It’s good for us to play where the at-bats seem a little bigger and you’ve got to make the plays.”
The A’s will lean on their pitching this season, and that includes former Giants closer Santiago Casilla. He pitched a scoreless fifth, facing his longtime team for the first time this spring.