To be “Cained” as a pitcher was to record a good start, receive little to no run support and go without a win for the evening as a result.
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11 of the Washington Nationals is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring a run against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning at AT&T Park on Friday in San Francisco, California. Having his last three seasons shortened by injuries and ineffectiveness added to the wait. Sunday, finally, he won his 100th. Cain became the sixth pitcher to win 100 games in a San Francisco Giants uniform, joining two Hall of Famers (Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry), two Cy Young winners (Tim Lincecum and Mike McCormick) and a former fan favorite (Kirk Rueter).
He was poised to do it three years ago, while still in his 20s.
Oh. And did we mention that Bochy lifted Cain with a no-hitter through five innings? They received contributions from Cain and another day of spotless work from their bullpen – areas of their roster they were seeking to upgrade – as they split their four-game series with the N.L. East-leading Nationals and won consecutive games for the first time since the All-Star break. Williamson is day-to-day with a jammed shoulder, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
“There was one other one but I went to the bathroom and missed it”, Baker said. He mixed in more off-speed pitches from the beginning. “He did a nice job against a tough lineup”.
The pinch-runner? Pitcher Jeff Samardzija – again, weird.
Said pinch-hitter was Madison Bumgarner. “Then Tony was jumping up and down with a smile on his face so I just tossed the ball over to him”. But the question was raised to Bumgarner, are your strides that much shorter than Samardzija’s?
So Petit remained in the game to face Panik, whose sacrifice fly was deep enough to score Posey without a throw.
The last three years for Matt Cain have snaked wildly, and far from the direction he ever hoped or intended. “But that’s a pretty special deal. Not too many people get that opportunity”.
Peavy failed to get a two-strike call on Harper from plate umpire Chad Fairchild, the plate appearance ended with a walk and Anthony Rendon followed with a shot that slipped over the left field fence to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.
But make no mistake, it’s a dogfight now, not only with the one-game-back Dodgers, but also the rest of the National League playoff contenders.
The clock’s ticking, the trade deadline is approaching on Monday and another elite reliever is off the board.
“I play the game with a lot of emotion and a lot of energy”, he said Friday.
In the clubhouse, the Giants acknowledged Cain’s milestone win with a quick celebration – skipping the champagne. Said Cain: “We went with a nice, high-class Bud Light”. “To see him bounce back and throw the ball so well, we couldn’t be happier for him”. Joe Nathan gave up a walk and a double to start the inning, so Maddon went to lefty Travis Wood.
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Jayson Werth had two hits for the Nationals to extend his on-base streak to 32 games, tied with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia for the longest active streak in the majors, and Ben Revere hit a tiebreaking single in the fifth.
