Cain fills in fine for ailing MadBum
Flu forces Bumgarner to miss series-opening 5-2 loss to St. Louis
SAN FRANCISCO » For old time sake, Matt Cain put together a serviceable start and the Giants failed to produce enough offense to get him the win.
Cain did exactly what the Giants needed him to do as a substitute filling in for ailing Madison Bumgarner at AT&T Park Thursday. Although he labored through five innings of work, Cain gave his team a chance to win by surrendering just two earned runs, but the Giants anemic offense couldn’t find a way to pick him up in a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The start was likely one of Cain’s last as a Giant at AT& T Park and emblematic of his career in Orange & Black. Despite a career 3.69 ERA entering Thursday’s game, Cain (3-11) has produced a sub-. 500 104-118 record, in large part, because the Giants often failed to provide him with run support when he was among the National League’s top starters from 2007 through 2012.
Apparently, the team was in nostalgia mode Thursday night.
Cain’s lone blemish came in the second when he committed the ultimate sin for any starting pitcher, surrendering a two- out, two-run home run to the No. 8 hitter, Randal Grichuk, after he got ahead in the count 0-2. The righty hung a slow curve ball over the middle of the plate and Grichuk smashed it to left.
But Cain kept the Giants in the game by pitching out of trouble in the fourth. After putting runners on second and third with just one out, he fanned Grichuk and then he induced a grounder
to second from pitcher Michael Wacha.
After 83 pitches, Cain was pulled from the game in fifth when his spot in the batting order came up with runners on the corners and just one out.
With just 14 home games left on the schedule, and Cain’s five-year, $112.5 million contract set to expire after the season, Thursday’s outing likely marked one of his final starts as a Giant at AT&T Park and he acquitted himself well.
The decision to bat Carlos Moncrief in Cain’s place proved to be a wise decision as the pinch hitter drove in the Giants lone run on a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Hunter Pence.
But Pence nearly gave that run away, getting caught in between second and third on a fly ball to right one batter earlier.
Pence went half way to third before he realized that Grichuk was going to catch Ryder Jones’ fly ball, and instead of going back to second safely, he tagged up and went for it.
Fortunately, he managed to slide under the tag even though the throw beat him by a few steps.
Beside the noise in the fifth, the Giants ice- cold bats continued to struggle against Wacha, who entered the contest with a 10.22 ERA in his previous three starts.
The Giants produced just three hits off Wacha (10-7) in six innings after producing an average of just 1.7 runs per game during their six-game road trip which concluded Wednesday.
After the Cardinals got Cain off the hill, they broke the game open by scoring a run off Hunter Strickland in the seventh and two more off Mark Melancon in the eighth.
Controversy enveloped the game in the ninth when Brandon Crawford appeared to hit a two-run home run to right.
A fan reached over the wall and caught the blast from Crawford that appeared destined to hit the yellow paint on the green roof of the brick wall.
But after video review, the umpires awarded Crawford with a ground rule double that scored Posey from second.
• Bumgarner was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday because of, “f lu- like symptoms.
“He’s sick,” manager Bruce Bochy said before the game. “Flu-like symptoms, chills, fever. He felt it a couple of days ago and thought he was getting better, but actually, it’s getting worse, so that’s why we’ve had to scratch him.”
Bochy said it’s “hard to say” when Bumgarner will be available to rejoin the Giants rotation.
“We’ll wait until we feel he’s strong enough to go out there and pitch,” Bochy said. “It could be as early as Sunday, somewhere in there. We just don’t know yet.”
• Johnny Cueto came out of side session Wednesday without any issues, clearing the way for his return to the Giants rotation Friday.
Cueto, who was sidelined by a flexor tendon strain and blisters on his throwing hand, hasn’t made a start since July 15.
• The Giants are planning to announce the first wave of the team’s September call ups after Thursday’s game.
Major League teams can expand their rosters to up to 40 players on Friday and the Giants are sure to add a few names to the clubhouse. But with up and comers, like third baseman Christian Arroyo (hand), pitcher Tyler Beede ( groin), outfielder Austin Slater (groin) nursing injuries, the organization isn’t planning to showcase any hot prospects this weekend.