The Giants kind of sleep-walked through this one, but Matt Cain pitched well enough to give confidence that he's ready to start the season. Key Lines:
Denard Span CF- 0 for 3. Span had a rough day. In addition to the 0 for 3, he whiffed twice on a long drive to left-center by Jed Lowrie which allowed Lowrie and baserunner Marcus Semien to circle the bases for 2 unearned runs. Span had to run a long way for the ball, but I am sure he would tell you he should have had it. It kicked of the heel of his glove and then he bobbled the ball trying to pick it up allowing Lowrie to score. Span has been an excellent defensive CF, albeit a bit to the negative by UZR the last 2 seasons. Seeing the video of this muff did bring back memories of a very similar drop he made against the Giants in Nationals Park, I think is 2014. He also made a sensational catch against Hunter Pence in the same stadium, so we'll see how it plays out.
Ehire Adrianza 2B- 1 for 1, HR. Quite a spring for the kid. He caps it off with a dinger long after all the regulars had hit the showers.
Matt Cain RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. Not great numbers, but not terrible either. Cain threw 88 pitches and should be ready to go in the second home game of the season against the Dodgers.
Eric Surkamp LHP(A's)- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's. Terrific outing for the former Giants farmhand who came this close to sticking in the major leagues as a Giant. An ill-timed UCL tear derailed things with the Giants. He as an mid-season opt-out of his minor league deal, but the way the A's go through pitchers, I'd say there is a good chance he gets called up before then.
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The Giants get tomorrow off to travel to Milwaukee to start the season on Monday against the BrewCrew. Madison Bumgarner gets the Opening Day start against Wily Peralta.
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I got to watch this game. I thought Cain was erratic but not horribly so and I'm comfortable believing that he'll be, at a minimum, a servicealbe #5 and could be even better though I don't think he's ever going to be the Matt Cain of old. I really felt that, for the most part, he was looking good. However, there were some times he was clearly struggling to get his slider and curve to work.
ReplyDeleteBut, in the end, most of his pitches looked like he getting them where he wanted and how he wanted them to get there. And his FB was coming in at a solid 91 MPH when I could remember to look at the pitch velocity. At least I never saw one that clocked anything but 91.
Adrianza should have put that weight on years ago. Before his eye was good enough but he was such a weak bat that he was just too fieldable with all those pop-ups and weak grounders. From what I've seen this spring, he may not be Belt or Pence with the rockets and worm burners, but he should be making harder contact and squeaking a few more through the infield and into the gaps. It's really a dramatic change and this is the first time I've felt comfortable with him on the 25-man roster.
I saw the double-error in-the-parker. I thought he got a late jump. So when he caught up to the ball that was tailing a bit, he was in a very difficult position and incapable of making the small adjustment he needed to make. Still, it was close and I should think that he'll get his OF legs under him again. Now, when he flubbed picking it up... Now, that was an eye-roller.
Anyway, after these last few games, I feel a lot better about the start of the season than I did a week ago when not one pitcher had a quality start or had even sniffed one...
Cain appeared to be topping out at 91. He was more 89-90. He didn't seem to be finishing his off speed stuff. Lots of pitches landing up and arm side.
DeleteCain's FB has alway had armside run which is a good thing and he's always worked it up in the zone. He gives up most of his dingers off hanging breaking stuff, which is what Khris Davis took him deep on yesterday.
DeleteI think Cain will return to his old form. He's pitching pretty darn good considering where he is at and he seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He's going to surprise some folks I think.
ReplyDeleteBilly Baseball